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  • Allmendinger Is Suspended After A Failed Drug Test

    Allmendinger Is Suspended After A Failed Drug Test

    Daytona Beach, Fl- Saturday evening, Steve O’ Donnell, Senior Vice President of Racing Operations for NASCAR, announced they suspended Penske Racing driver A.J. Allmendinger as a result failing a random drug test.

    “NASCAR has a strict drug-testing program that Penske Racing fully supports. Penske Racing will work with NASCAR through this process and its next steps,” the team said in a statement.

    Immediately after Allmendinger’s suspension, Penske Racing was forced to call Sam Hornish Jr to replace the driver just 90 minutes prior to race time.

    “Right before I was about to do the last segment on my Speed TV show, I got a call from Mike Nelson while I was in the studio and all that I could think about was that he was calling to harass me about my tie,” Hornish said. “Obviously, that’s not the case. For me, it was a lot of waiting around. I’m sure for everyone else it was hectic. We sat there and had no idea what was going to happen from the time that I left Charlotte to when I got to Daytona. … I actually went and got a sandwich and tried to hydrate as much as I could. I think I drank 18 bottles of water knowing how hot it was down here.”

    Aided by police escorts, Hornish Jr arrived eight minutes before the Coke Zero 400 was sent to begin in Daytona.

    “It’s really been a whirlwind since we were notified, and we really just needed to get Sam back to Daytona. We spoke briefly with A.J. before he left, and we agreed we’d talk when we get back. Certainly there’s no closure, and it’s just not that simple of a situation,” Cindric said. “We need to let the process take care of itself. It’s a situation we’ve never been in before, and when we were notified he failed the test, the next step really became getting Sam to Daytona and agreeing to table everything else until we’re all back.”

    Penske Racing hired A.J. Allmendinger in late December to fill in for Kurt Busch who had parted ways with the team. Prior to Penske, Allmendinger raced with Richard Petty Motorsports. Cindric stated that Penske remains behind their first-year driver.

    “He’s our driver and that why it’s important to understand all the facts,” Cindric said. “It’s very difficult to speculate on how it should be handled. On one side, we have personal relationships, and on the other, well, it’s a business side. We’ve not been through this before, and we just really want to understand this some more.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

    [media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Racing, rather than traffic, ruled the day at the second annual running of the Quaker State 400. Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from Kentucky Speedway.

    Surprising:  It was surprising the odds that Brad Keselowski played to get to Victory Lane. He finished No. 1 in the Quaker State 400 in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to score his No.3 win for the 2012 season.

    Keselowski, in a back-up car after a practice accident with Juan Pablo Montoya, scored his first ever win at Kentucky.

    “Who’d have figured my best finish would have came in the hardest race but that just shows the importance of teamwork,” Keselowski said. “The group of guys that I have on this Miller Lite Dodge, they’re just bad asses.”

    “They put together a back-up car from last year in the hundred degree heat in an hour’s time,” Keselowski continued. “And that’s what got us to Victory lane today and I’m proud of these guys for it, damn proud of ‘em.”

    “I think that sums it up.”

    Not Surprising:  Penske Racing’s other car, with A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel, also beat the odds at Kentucky. The ‘Dinger brought the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge home in the ninth position, in spite of running out of gas on the last lap.

    “I was happy with the way most of the day went, especially around here because I haven’t been good around here,” Allmendinger said. “A lot of the credit goes to Brad helping me out. He’s obviously really good.”

    “But for a track that I’m not very good at, that I really struggle at and tough conditions, running inside the top 10 for pretty much all of the day and getting a ninth out of it, which I’d like to have been a little bit better, but it’s something to build on.”

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas Racing had a surprisingly bad day in the Blue Grass State. Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, had ignition problems early in the race which led to his 32nd place finish.

    With that dismal finish, Smoke became NASCAR’s biggest loser, dropping four positions to ninth position in the point standings.

    Teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet, finished 34th after blowing his engine and careening into the wall. Although Newman was not physically hurt, his psyche took a hit with his second DNF of the season.

    Not Surprising:  On the flip side, Hendrick Motorsports had a fabulous day at Kentucky Speedway, with Kasey Kahne finishing second, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fourth, Jeff Gordon fifth, and Jimmie Johnson sixth.

    This was Kahne’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

    “Well, we had a really good Quaker State Chevrolet,” Kahne said. “We had to pass a ton of cars and came up a little short.”

    “But the team was awesome.”

    Kahne’s HMS teammate and four time champ Jeff Gordon echoed his sentiments.

    “It was a pretty flawless night for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Jeff Gordon said. “I was pretty excited that we came home with a fifth place finish, battling up front like we did.”

    Surprising:  After three straight engine issues in a row and a smack against the wall at Kentucky, Kyle Busch, who was dominant early in the race, finished with a surprising top-10.

    “It was definitely not any fun – not as much fun as we were having early on,” Busch said. “We just had to persevere and try to get through it the best we could.”

    “So, tough night again for these M&M’s guys,” Busch continued. “We salvaged a heck of a finish for what all we had to go through.”

    Not Surprising:   Every race, even in the heart of horse country, has its share of drivers unhappy with one another. And this race was no exception, with drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Newman getting into it.

    “I’m not really sure what’s going on with the boy in that No. 20 car,” Newman said. “He’s got a few things to learn and I’m going to have to be the one who teaches him.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth’s announcement that he would leave Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season for pastures unknown had surprisingly no effect on him on the track. Kenseth, in his No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion finished 7th and maintained his points lead in the Chase standings.

    “It was a huge struggle for us tonight,” Kenseth said. “I am happy to finish seventh for as big of a struggle as it was.”

    Not Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, announced via Twitter prior to the race that he would be staying on with Joe Gibbs Racing and, to no one’s surprise, finished third in the Quaker State 400.

    This was Hamlin’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky Speedway.

    “Our car was really strong,” Hamlin said. “I’m proud of this FedEx team. We needed a finish and that was my first priority on that last run.”

    “Anybody that follows me on Twitter – I like to give them the information first,” Hamlin continued. “A proud moment for us and Joe Gibbs Racing to sign an extension and know where we’re going to be for the foreseeable future.”

    “Hopefully we’ll win a championship together.”

    Surprising:  Forget the consistent points racing, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has a surprising new attitude – he just wants to win. Junior, behind the wheel of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, finished fourth, however, still had his Michigan win of two weeks ago on his mind.

    “It was really fun,” Junior said of his top-5 at Kentucky. “But we’re just ready to win.”

    “I really had fun winning the other week,” Junior continued. “I’m ready to get back to Victory Lane. I ain’t going to be as patient this time.”

    Not Surprising:  Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, continued to fly the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing, finishing eighth.

    “We weren’t very good all night,” Truex Jr. said. “We had a good finish – – I guess.”

    “We were just really tight all night and we couldn’t do anything to fix it.”

    Surprising:  Carl Edwards and company made a rare mistake on pit road, having to come for a splash of gas to finish the race. The No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion took the checkered flag in the 20th position at race end.

    “We had a pretty good car at the end,” Edwards said. “Bob (Osborne) called me onto pit road.”

    “He knew we should have pitted that last time but I was already so far around that cone that I just didn’t feel right cutting across traffic and slamming the splitter down to make it to pit road.”

    “We were put in a box,” Edwards continued. “I am real frustrated. We need to get this in gear.”

    Not Surprising:  After a 21st place finish, it is not surprising to lose positions in the point standings. And Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 American Red Cross Ford Fusion, did just that, falling to the fourth spot in the Chase.

    “We qualified a little better this year than we did last year but the end result was the same,” Biff said. “We were off a little bit and just couldn’t get a handle on it.”

    The Cup Series next travels to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 for another Saturday night of racing under the lights

     

  • Toyota/Save Mart 350 Review: Surprises at Sonoma

    Toyota/Save Mart 350 Review: Surprises at Sonoma

    Clint Bowyer surprised fans when he qualified in sixth position for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. With the overall strength that Michael Waltrip Racing has shown in 2012, it wasn’t much of a surprise to the world when the No. 15 5 Hour Energy Toyota crossed the finish line first on Sunday. Like most races at Sonoma, fuel mileage was an issue in the closing laps when the race finished under green-white-checkered. Bowyer did run out of fuel – on his victory lap.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”317″][/media-credit]“It’s all about surrounding yourself with good people and we certainly have that. We have great partners, 5-hour ENERGY, Napa and Aaron’s, my teammates, Martin Truex and Mark Martin, I’m telling you, everybody is working very, very good together with this group.

    That’s something I’ve never been able to do before. I’ve had good teammates and I’ve had good stuff, but never like this at this magnitude. This is a young group. Michael stuck it out and I’m telling you, he’s fixing to reap the benefits. He’s worked hard. Our marketing department does a great job and this is I think the first of many to come. To have this dirt boy from Kansas in victory lane at this road course is big, trust me. “

    This is Bowyer’s first win for MWR and his first win of the season. With this victory, he has rocketed two spots in the standings to 7th position, 67 points behind the leader. If the 15 team were to drop out of the Top 10 in points standings, they now have the opportunity to take the wild-card position to be in the chase for the Sprint Cup.

     

    Smoke Rebounds at Sonoma

    Tony Stewart started Sonoma off on a rocky note with practice session speeds of 24th, 17th, and 21st position. The two time winner of this track qualified in 24th position and rebounded to finish in second position. With this finish Smoke shot up three spots in points, to fifth position, just 63 points behind the leader.

    “I was really pleased with it to be honest. The last two days we have not been real happy with our balance and just couldn’t seem to get the speed that a lot of the guys that were putting up big numbers at the top of the board were able to run. We couldn’t even run within a second of them the last two days.

    To end up running second like this is just a really good effort for all of our guys. Really proud of Steve Addington, never gave up this weekend. Nobody ever gave up on trying to find something that was going to be a little bit better. So him and Jeff Meendering and Greg Zipadelli and all of these guys on the team, just really proud of the effort they put forward this weekend.”

     

    Underdogs Fill the Top-10

    Brian Vickers, who is running a partial schedule with MWR, qualified his No. 55 Toyota in 21st position. His team fought hard to get to the front of the field, and came home with a fourth place finish. Vickers has two other starts this season, with finishes of 5th and 18th position. The former Red Bull driver is using this part-time gig to try and show other teams what he is capable of; so far, Vickers impresses the field with his finishes.

    Marcos Ambrose pleasantly surprised the NASCAR world once again we he qualified his Stanley Ford on the pole for the second week in a row. Although the “thunder from down under” couldn’t contend for the win, he was able to hold on to a strong eighth place finish. Ambrose has four top-10 finishes this season and is sitting 16th in points standings. If he were to grab a win before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he could hold a coveted wild card, allowing him to contend for the championship.

    AJ Allmendinger is another driver who didn’t qualify well at Sonoma, starting in the 17th position. However, by the end of the race, he was racing the front runners and finished in 9th position. Moving to Penske this season, expectations have been high for the No. 22 Pennzoil driver. This season Allmendinger has scored two top-10 finishes and one top-5.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With a shortened race, a repaved track, a snazzy new Twitter partnership, and Doc Mattioli looking down from heaven, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR.

    Surprising:  As the checkered flag flew at Pocono Raceway, it was surprising the history that was made by race winner and driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Joey Logano became the youngest Pocono winner ever at 22 years and 17 days, breaking the record set by Jeff Gordon, who won at 24 years of age.

    Logano also was the first pole winner in 31 races to go on to Victory Lane. The young driver led 49 laps, a career high, and will now race in the 2013 All-Star race.

    “Yeah, the moment is pretty surreal,” Logano said. “Not just crossing the line, obviously that’s an amazing moment, and I didn’t stop screaming until I got to about – well, victory lane, I guess.”

    “You work so hard to do this,” Logano continued. “To get a victory, it meant so much.”

    “Pulling the Home Depot car into victory lane at a Sprint Cup race and winning it the right way was just an amazing, amazing feeling that you can’t replicate and you can’t explain what it means.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the second place finisher was gracious as always, even in defeat. Veteran driver Mark Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, came out on the wrong end of a bump and run to the young driver that he has been touting for many years.

    “I’m just so thankful to have the opportunity that Michael Waltrip, first of all, and Aaron’s and Toyota have given me to drive competitive race cars,” Martin said. “It is so incredible to be in something that is strong enough that I can contend.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising how focused and disciplined Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and crew chief Steve Letarte were at Pocono, pitting to take fuel and still finishing with a top-10.

    “Well, we just didn’t want to run out of gas,” Dale Junior said. “I didn’t know the caution flags were going to be so long. And they were long enough to help them guys make it on fuel.”

    “We’re not taking those kinds of chances – just yet.”

    Not Surprising:  On a newly-paved race track, it was not surprising that passing was challenging and restarts were even more insane. Both drivers of the Stewart Haas team could most certainly attest to that.

    “The restarts were insane,” Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Modbil1/Office Depot Chevrolet and third place finisher, said. “But you had to take full advantage of them.”

    “That was the biggest opportunity to make gains and definitely big gains,” Smoke continued. “You could get three or four at a time if somebody got bottled up a little bit.”

    “You had to be on your toes for the restarts for sure.”

    Teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, also had a tough time on restarts. With just 40 to go, Newman fell from sixth to 11th place due to a crazy restart, finishing the race in 12th.

    “I told the guys that I just got too aggressive on that restart,” Newman said. “It ended up costing us some spots there.”

    “At the end of the race, we just didn’t have the track position that we needed and we didn’t get the top-10 finish that we felt we deserved.”

    Surprising:  Team Dodge had a surprisingly tough day at the race track. Brad Keselowski wheeled his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to an 18th place finish, while AJ Allmendinger took one of the most brutal hits of his racing career in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.

    “My team did a great job through all the adversity today,” Keselowski said. “We got caught twice on the timing lines and then we had some problems with the ignition.”

    “And at the very end, we lost brakes,” Keselowski continued. “It was just one fight after another.”

    “I’m not sure what happened,” Allmendinger said of his crash.”That was pretty hard, that might be one of the hardest hits I’ve had.”

    Not Surprising:   With over 22 speeding penalties meted out by NASCAR during the race, it will not be surprising to see crew chiefs galore on pit road at Michigan for the upcoming race weekend. One of the multiple speeding offenders was none other than five-time champ Jimmie Johnson.

    “Things were just repaved, everything has been redone and we need to physically walk down and mark it off ourselves to understand what happened there,” Johnson said. “We got nailed with a lot of other guys.”

    Surprising:  After a fitful start to the season, Jamie McMurray had a surprisingly good finish at Long Pond. The driver of the No. 1 Banana Boat Chevrolet finally pulled off a top-10 finish.

    “We had a really good Banana Boat Chevy today,” McMurray said. “I am proud of the effort from everyone one this team and feel good about the way we performed.”

    “It’s nice to walk out of here with a top-10 finish.”

    Not Surprising:  The monkey remained on the back of the driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet. In spite of running as well as top-five, Jeff Gordon and his team made the decision to pit for fuel with just 23 laps to go.

    That decision bit Gordon yet again, relegating him to a 19th place finish. The four-time champ has just 4 top-10 finishes in the last 17 races.

    And with the finish at Pocono, Gordon fell to 22nd in the point standings, with only wild card wins as his hope to get into the 2012 Chase.

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch and team No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing surprisingly suffered the second engine failure in a row at Pocono, finishing 30th.

    “It’s very frustrating,” Busch said. “We got knocked back on the first lap in traffic by a stupid move and we’re fighting our way back through and then we have another engine issue.”

    “We’re putting ourselves in a hell of a hole and it’s not going to be easy to come out of it.”

    Not Surprising:  With Greg Biffle’s valve train failure and 24th place finish, it was not surprising that a new points leader emerged after the checkered flag was waved at Pocono.

    Teammate Matt Kenseth, with his solid seventh place finish, took over the lead, ten points ahead of Dale Earnhardt. Jr., with Biffle falling to 16 points behind to third in the standings.

    “It’s unfortunate we fell back that far, but the points are so tight we knew that if we had an issue we were going to drop a lot,” Biffle said. “You’re vulnerable when you’re only one point or ten points ahead, but that’s racing.”

    “It’s better than being second,” Kenseth said of his points lead, “But I’m just kind of disappointed right now because I thought we had a shot to win.”

    “I couldn’t go on restarts,” Kenseth said. “We’ll keep working on it, but I’m happy we got a decent finish and took over the point lead.”

  • Pocono 400 Review: Logano Tames the Triangle

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”268″][/media-credit]After starting on the pole on Sunday, Joey Logano claimed his second Cup win in 125 starts. The Joe Gibbs Driver broke a 104 race win-less streak to become the youngest driver to win at Pocono, at 22 years and seven days old. This is crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s first Cup win of his career and the No. 20 team became the 10th different winner of 2012.

    “You work so hard to do this, and them teaming me up with Jason has been an awesome experience,” Logano said. “We’ve been growing together a lot lately and able to make our cars better. To get a victory, it meant so much, and pulling the Home Depot car into victory lane at a Sprint Cup race and winning it the right way was just an amazing, amazing feeling that you can’t replicate and you can’t explain what it means.”

     

    Earnhardt Oh So Close to Victory

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned his Cup-best 11th top-10 finish of 2012, taking over second in points. Earnhardt led 36 laps on the 2.5 mile track and looked as if he would break the 4 year win-less drought looming over his head.

    The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet was leading with 35 laps remaining when a caution flag flew, leaving his crew chief Steve Letarte with a tough decision to make. If the race went green from that point on, Earnhardt would have been about five laps short on fuel. With this information, the team pitted twice in the remaining 35 laps to guarantee they would make it on fuel.

    “We had a really, really good car,” Earnhardt said. “That was fun. That was the funnest car I’ve had all year and the best car I’ve had at Pocono in a long, long time. So, I’m just really trying not to be too upset about it because we did a lot of good things today and we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”

    Although the team did make it on fuel, Earnhardt’s domination throughout the race ended with an eighth place finish. Earnhardt now resides in second position in standings, just 10 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.

     

    Controversy Over Pit Road Penalties

    The talk of the race surrounded the outstanding amount of infractions that occurred on pit road. There were 22 speeding penalties, the most in documented infraction history since 2006. Travis Kvapil was penalized four times for speeding on exit; David Reutimann was penalized three times – two for exiting and one entering; Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, AJ Allmendinger were each penalized twice.

    Many drivers blamed the scoring timers on pit road for the speeding penalties. However, according to NASCAR’s vice president of competition, the problem was with the drivers.

    “This track’s gone under a lot of reconfiguration since last year,” Robin Pemberton said after the race. “It’s a brand new pit road, all brand new loops, positions have been changed since last year. Sections were smaller than they were last year throughout pit road and, actually, the last section is a little bit bigger.”

    Brad Keselowski, who finished in 18th position after the penalties, had a different opinion on the infractions.

    “It was obvious that the section had some kind of issue because I know both times I got busted I was under the limit with my tools that I have available,” said Keselowski. “I was consistent down pit road, so if I was speeding in that sector, I would have been speeding in the others — but it didn’t show that. I think there’s plenty of evidence to show that there is something wrong with that section timing.”

    Johnson, who fell back to 22nd after the penalties, rebounded to finish in fourth position.

     

    Quicken Loans 400 Predictions

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]This weekend we head to Michigan International Speedway and all eyes will be on the No. 88 team where they captured their first and only point’s win for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. After dominating most of the race at Pocono and finishing in the top 10 for the 11th time this season, expectations are high for the Cup veteran. Along with his win four years ago at this track, Earnhardt has four top-5 and eight top-10 finishes at Michigan and is looking to drive to victory lane once again.

    Denny Hamlin is another driver who knows how to get the job done at MIS. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has two wins at this track, with five top-5 and seven top-10 finishes. Hamlin is currently fourth in Cup standings and has two wins so far this season.

    Kevin Harvick is another driver to keep an eye on, with one win in 2010 and seven top 10 finishes. Harvick resides in sixth position in points, 53 points behind the leader. The Richard Childress Racing driver has yet to win a race this season, but has been very consistent with three top-5 and seven top-10 finishes.

    Carl Edwards is itching to get his first win of the season, and MIS may be the track that he drives to victory lane at. The Roush Fenway Racing driver has impressive stats here, with two wins, nine top-5 and 12 top-10 finishes. Edwards is also looking to break into the top 10 in points, sitting in 11th position, 100 points behind leader and teammate Kenseth.

     

    All quotes via NASCAR.com.

  • Joey Logano Puts the Moves on Mark Martin to Score Pocono Win

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”268″][/media-credit]At the newly-paved Pocono Raceway, young Joey Logano put the moves on veteran Mark Martin, literally, to score the race win. This was career win number two for the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota and his first win of the season.

    With the victory, Logano became the youngest race winner at Pocono.

    “That feels awesome to finally win one the right way,” Logano said. “You don’t know how much this means.”

    “I knew my car was better than his and clean air was worth so much,” Logano said of his battle with Martin. “I didn’t want to get in the back of Mark there.”

    “I saw the bobble coming off 3 and I knew that was my chance,” Logano continued. “I would have been on suicide watch if I would have given it away like that.”

    Logano’s crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, got his first Sprint Cup win as well.

    “We were saving the best Gibbs car for last,” Jason Ratcliff said, with a chuckle. “To get my first win at Pocono is a great experience and to get it with Joey was the best.”

    “It was a great weekend for us.”

    In contrast to the youngest race winner, Mark Martin, one of the veterans of the sport and driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, came in second after being moved out of the way by the youngster.

    This was Martin’s second second place finish at Pocono, posting his 34th top-10 in 51 races at Pocono. It is his fifth top-10 finish of the season.

    “We were racing hard,” Mark Martin said. “I wanted to win it so bad.”

    “I’d call it a bump and run,” Martin said of Logano’s move. “It’s not how I would have done it.”

    “If I had a fast enough car, he would have gotten a return,” Martin continued. “It was a great race and I’m very, very proud of my race team for putting me in something that would give me a shot.”

    “Maybe next week, we’ll be the ones with the trophy.”

    Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, finished third. This was Smoke’s 19th top-10 finish in 27 races at Pocono.

    “It was frustrating the first half of the race until guys got their cars better,” Stewart said. “You really just kind of got stuck and then it seems like the longer the race went, the easier it got to pass toward the end.”

    “The restarts were insane,” Smoke continued. “All in all, for a freshly paved track, it was a pretty good race.”

    The day started with a bang at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, with a record two cautions in the first 15 laps, on for an accident involving Landon Cassill, Martin Truex, Jr. and AJ Allmendinger and the second for an accident involving Reed Sorenson, Tony Raines, and JJ Yeley.

    “Sometimes when you try to take it easy, you get yourself in trouble,” Cassill, driver of the No. 83 Burger King/Real Fruit Smoothies said. “I really hate this.”

    “This is two tough weeks in a row and it’s tough on my guys.”

    One of the other drivers involved in the early race melee, AJ Allmendinger, was very slow in exiting his car after his on-track incident in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.

    “I’m not sure what happened,” Dinger said. “I think I blew a right front.”

    “I’m just a little sore, had the wind knocked out of me,” Allmendinger continued. “That might be one of the hardest hits I’ve had.”

    The other big story from the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR was the incredible number of speeding penalties, some entering but most exiting pit road. The final tally for pit road speeding penalties total was 22 and affected drivers from Jeff Gordon to Jeff Burton.

    “I was obviously being told by my crew chief that a lot of guys were getting busted in that last segment,” Stewart said. “We just made sure we were a little bit on the conservative side.”

    “It just shows the guys are pushing the envelope on it so close,” Smoke said. “But it makes you wonder if something was going on because a lot of guys got busted in the same spot.”

    The other news from Long Pond was that a new points leader emerged after the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR. With Greg Biffle’s 24th place finish, his teammate Matt Kenseth, who finished seventh, scored the top dog position.

    “It’s probably the best we’ve ever performed at Pocono,” the driver of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Fusion said. “That was the positive part because we went up there and led some laps under green and thought we were pretty competitive.”

    In typical Kenseth style, his comment on assuming the points lead was “It’s better than being second.”

    “But I’m kind of disappointed,” Kenseth continued. “I thought we had a shot to win under the right circumstances.”

    “Us and the 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) were pretty strong when we were out front and it just didn’t happen,” Kenseth said. “We’ll keep working on it, but I’m happy we got a decent finish and took over the point lead.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Pocono 400, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=14
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 20 Joey Logano Toyota 48
    2 6 55 Mark Martin Toyota 43
    3 22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 41
    4 24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 40
    5 5 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 40
    6 16 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 38
    7 14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 38
    8 8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 37
    9 3 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 35
    10 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 35
    11 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 33
    12 18 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 32
    13 9 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 31
    14 21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 30
    15 20 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 29
    16 7 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 28
    17 17 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 28
    18 31 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 26
    19 12 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 25
    20 23 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 24
    21 25 51 David Reutimann Chevrolet 23
    22 27 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 22
    23 36 38 David Gilliland Ford 22
    24 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford 21
    25 42 10 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 19
    26 37 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 18
    27 34 34 David Ragan Ford 18
    28 29 43 Aric Almirola Ford 16
    29 10 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 15
    30 4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 14
    31 19 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 13
    32 40 36 Tony Raines Chevrolet 12
    33 43 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 11
    34 30 98 Michael McDowell Ford 10
    35 26 13 Casey Mears Ford 9
    36 32 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 8
    37 33 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    38 28 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
    39 39 74 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 5
    40 38 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 4
    41 41 32 Reed Sorenson Ford 0
    42 35 26 Josh Wise * Ford 3
    43 15 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 1
  • 2012 Sprint All-Star Review: The No. 48 Team Dominates All-Star Week

    2012 Sprint All-Star Review: The No. 48 Team Dominates All-Star Week

    Sprint Showdown: Dale Jr Back To Victory Lane

    AJ Allmendinger put his No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge on the pole; however, as the field was coming out of Turn 4 to take the green-flag, Allmendinger was forced to pit for a flat left front tire. This moved Allmendinger to the back of the field, remaining on the lead lap. Allmendinger’s loss was Dale Earnhardt Jr’s gain. Because of Allmendinger’s misfortune, Earnhardt took over the pole position, with Martin Truex Jr. starting in second. Earnhardt looked like a bullet shot out of a gun when he jumped out to a 1.398 second lead over Truex within three laps of the green-flag.

    Earnhardt held onto the lead through the end of the 20-lap segment. While under caution, majority of the teams from third position back went down pit road for adjustments. Earnhardt remained on track to hold onto the lead for the restart and once again jumped ahead of the field by half a straight away. After starting in the back of the field, Jamie McMurray stayed on track during this caution to pick up the second position.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Allmendinger and Truex battled aggressively for third position for nearly 10 laps, with Allmendinger finally taking the position with 12 laps to go. Allmendinger then caught McMurray with 10 laps to go, battling for the position to advance to the All-Star race. This battle continued in the final ten laps – all the while, Dale Jr. held onto a two second lead.

    With a lap and a half to go, McMurray got loose coming off the backstretch which allowed Allmendinger to get under his bumper and make an aggressive pass on him. Earnhardt went on to win the Sprint Showdown, with Allmendinger getting the second place transfer spot. “I got to give most of the credit of our performance to the team”, Earnhardt said. “They put a great car out on the line today that was fast right out the gate.”

    Earnhardt was assumed by many to win the fan vote. With Earnhardt winning the showdown race, this opened up the fan vote to Bobby Labonte. “Actually, the story is two weeks ago we weren’t even going to show up here because this is not in our budget to run this race”, Labonte said. “Guys stepped up, so we got this far. Hopefully we can just keep going. Again, just thank the fans for doing that. That’s really a great deal.”

     

    Sprint All-Star Race: Johnson Steals All-Star Victory

    Kyle “Rowdy” Busch started on the pole for the race, with Ryan “Rocket Man” Newman on the outside pole. Jimmie Johnson showed he had a fast car right off the bat, taking over the lead on Lap 16. After the first segment ended, pit stops and strategy began to play out. Jimmie Johnson pitted twice under this caution; while seven other drivers, including Earnhardt and Denny Hamlin, did not make a pit stop. Hamlin restarted the race in first position, with a fast Earnhardt restarting in 6th position.

    Caution waved on Lap 26 when Carl Edwards’ engine expired. The race restarted on Lap 31 with Hamlin and Marcos Ambrose, who did not pit, leading the field. Just one lap later, Kenseth wasted no time taking over the second position from Ambrose. On the same lap, Earnhardt began to put pressure on Ambrose for third position. Kenseth took over the lead just before the end of the second segment, with Earnhardt taking over third.

    Seven drivers stayed out under caution, allowing Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, and Kevin Harvick to take over the top three positions. Right at the start-finish line, Kahne tried his best to steal the lead from Keselowski, but was about an inch shy of taking it.

    Beginning the fourth segment, Kurt Busch took over the lead of the race after staying on track under caution. It only took Earnhardt, who restarted in second, two laps to take over the lead. Running on old tires, Busch dropped back to fourth position, as Allmendinger and Kahne took over the second and third positions.

    Caution waved on Lap 68 when the second Roush Fenway Ford of Greg Biffle, lost an engine. With 16 to go on the restart, Earnhardt took over the lead once again and jumped out to a hefty lead.  As the final segment came to a close, the 10-lap shootout began. Johnson led the field off pit road, with Kenseth, Keselowski, and Earnhardt following. In the same week that his No. 48 Lowes team won the pit crew challenge, Johnson took his Lowes Chevrolet to victory lane in the All-Star race for the third time in his career. This win has tied Johnson for most All-Star victories with Dale Earnhardt and his teammate, Jeff Gordon.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”342″][/media-credit]At the end of the race, instead of driving the flag around the track in victory, Johnson took his car owner for a victory lap. Rick Hendrick was at the end of pit road and told Johnson to come pick him up. Once Hendrick put his leg inside the car, he was in for a ride.  Rather than driving his owner to victory lane, Johnson took his car owner for a little joy ride around the tri-oval.  Rick waved to the fans around the track in a humorous manner. Johnson won a total of $1,071,340 with his All-Star win.

    Race Results : Sprint All-Star Race
    Sprint All-Star Race – May 19, 2012 – Exhibition

    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time Bnd
    1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    2 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0 90 Running
    3 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 0 90 Running
    4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 90 Running
    5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 0 90 Running
    8 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    9 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    10 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    11 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 0 90 Running
    12 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    13 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    14 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 0 90 Running
    15 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0 90 Running
    16 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    17 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    18 34 David Ragan Ford 0 90 Running
    19 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 0 90 Running
    20 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0 90 Running
    21 55 Mark Martin Toyota 0 90 Running
    22 16 Greg Biffle Ford 0 67 Out of Race
    23 99 Carl Edwards Ford 0 25 Out of Race
  • Aaron’s 499 Review: Talladega Puts On a Show

    Aaron’s 499 Review: Talladega Puts On a Show

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography, Inc.” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]When NASCAR comes to Talladega it’s almost like playing the lottery; you never know who is going to win, but it’s still fun to gamble. Jeff Gordon started on the pole with last year’s champion Tony Stewart on the outside pole. The race was delayed for about 30 minutes due to rain that flooded the track overnight, but once the race got started it was an entertaining show.

    Overheating started out early on Lap 16 when Regan Smith blew an engine to bring out the caution flag. Tony Stewart, who was leading when the caution came out, got off pit road second to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth was able to hold the lead until Lap 26 when Michael Waltrip took his No. 55 Toyota to the lead.

    The overheating woes continued on Lap 44 when Ryan Newman took his car to the garage when water began to pour out of his windshield. The top three drivers under this caution were Waltrip, Kenseth, and Stewart. At Talladega a driver can go from the rear of the field to the front instantly with the help of the two car tandem and that’s exactly what Jimmie Johnson did on Lap 46 with the help of his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch.

    Kenseth took the lead in his Best Buy Ford on Lap 53 with Jeff Gordon in tow. Around this time is when Johnson reported to the team that his engine was blowing up due to overheating.  After green-flag pit stops on Lap 58 Earnhardt took over the lead from Kenseth for about 20 laps, until Earnhardt lost the draft and dropped back to 15th position. Approximately 50 laps into the race Kasey Kahne was forced to make a spotter change. His interim spotter Kevin Hamlin was suffering from laryngitis at the time and eventually lost his voice. The No. 5 team replaced Hamlin with Joe Nemecheck’s spotter to finish the race.

    From 80 laps to go on, the leader of the race changed almost every ten laps. The drivers exchanging the lead were Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Kenseth, Casey Mears, Brad Keselowski, and Kurt Busch.  Busch caught a big break on Lap 141 when his car ran out of fuel just as caution flew on the race track. In Turns 3 and 4 the big one struck involving Landon Cassill, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Juan Montoya, Terry Labonte, Aric Almirola, and Dave Blaney. Under this caution Kenseth and Ambrose were penalized for pitting too soon. Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte also pitted too soon after running out of fuel.

    Paul Menard led the restart with Keselowski on his outside. Keselowski took the lead with 39 to go. Mears spun his race car in Turn 3 to bring out a caution with 15 laps to go. During this caution Stewart brought his car down pit road for overheating issues. The cautions continued when former teammates Keselowski and Kurt Busch got together, sending Busch spinning through the infield.

    As the field attempted to restart, another caution flew once again. Hamlin jumped out of line to try and make it three wide down the middle. Allmendinger blocked Hamlin and started another big wreck. Menard, Kevin Harvick, and Waltrip were also involved. Just before the restart Hamlin blew a tire causing the caution to be extended for debris on the track.

    The race was settled by a green-white-checkered finish between Kenseth, Keselowski, and Kyle Busch. Keselowski pulled ahead by three car-lengths over the field to win his second race at Talladega.

     

    [media-credit name=”articles.boston.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kurt Busch, or Should I Say “Ricky Bobby”?

    Kurt Busch’s paint scheme for Talladega looked very familiar to race fans, and even non-race fans. Busch ran the colors of “ME” from the popular movie “Talladega Nights”. Not only did he run Ricky Bobby’s paint scheme, his entire team took this role to a whole different level. The team referred to Busch as “Ricky” over the radio and quoted the movie throughout the entire race. The team even carried a stuffed animal cougar named “Karen” in the racecar with them.

    Busch’s race was going very well until Lap 181 when Keselowski and Busch got together, sending Busch sliding across the start-finish line. With limited damage to his race car, it looked as if Busch would be able to get back on track and continue racing. However, when Busch drove his car down pit road backwards in attempt to get to his pit stall, he was forced to pit again. This is when the fun and games ended between the team and driver, and the No. 51 car finished in 20th place, one lap down.

     

    Fresh Faces Finish in the Top-20

    After losing his Cup ride at Roush Racing last season, it was nice to see David Ragan finish in 7th position. Ragan ran a clean race and was able to stay out of trouble to keep his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford in the Top-10. Trevor Bayne is running a part-time NASCAR schedule this season due to lack of sponsorship with Wood Brother’s Racing. Bayne is known for being a good plate-track racer and he finished in 8th position in the Aaron’s 499. Aric Almirola is another driver who we don’t normally see at the top of the field, but was able to finish in 12th position. David Gilliland, who is Ragan’s teammate at Front Row Motorsports, finished in 13th position. Travis Kvapil, who is running a par-time schedule, finished in 16th position.

  • Capital City 400 Review: Virginia is for Drama

    Capital City 400 Review: Virginia is for Drama

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]For the first half of the race, it looked like Carl Edwards would be the man in victory lane at the end of the Capitol City 400. However, after a late race penalty Edwards was put to the rear of the field, giving the lead up for grabs.

    After leading for 206 laps, Edwards was black flagged for jumping the restart on Lap 320. He was forced to make a pass through penalty on pit road, which dropped him back to 15th place. The No. 99 team was very irate about the situation, but NASCAR wasn’t hearing it. Edwards’ team was confused about the situation and wanted to know if they received the penalty for jumping the restart, or for beating Stewart to the line.

    Edwards may have jumped the restart however, the situation looked worse when Stewart spun his tires on the start – this bunched up the rest of the field and caused Edwards’ to jump out about three car lengths over the rest of the field.

    Either way you look at it, this penalty gave Stewart the lead of the race.  Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the Top 5. Stewart and Busch led the field with seven seconds over Earnhardt. It looked as if Stewart would drive to his third victory lane of the season until caution for debris flew once again with 14 laps to go. Edwards received the lucky dog during this caution and was back on the lead lap.

    After problems on pit road for Stewart, Busch won the race off of pit road. Stewart spun his tires once again on the restart, allowing Earnhardt to take over second position and give the fans something to yell about. Earnhardt trailed Busch by half a second but wasn’t able to catch him when the checkered flag waved. Finishing second has moved Earnhardt to second position in point’s standings, just five points from the leader.

    Busch took Richmond by storm, winning the Nationwide race as the car owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports, and winning as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch has been flying under the radar this season and is lower in points than we normally see him. Winning at Richmond gained him two positions in points, moving him to 11th position.

     

    What’s On the Horizon for Talladega?

    The good thing about Talladega is: it’s anybody’s race! It doesn’t matter where you start, because it only takes one lap for a driver to move from last to first position, or vice versa. Talladega is the biggest and wildest track on the circuit and it never fails to put on a good show.  Jimmie Johnson won the Aaron’s 499 last year, and he could very well do it again. However, I’m looking at Michael Waltrip Racing in Talladega.

    I believe that MWR will be a force to reckon with at the Superspeedway. Owner Michael Waltrip will get behind the wheel of the No. 55 to race at a track that he has won before. Everyone knows that Waltrip is a master at superspeedways and his drivers, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, aren’t too shabby either.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”319″][/media-credit]Bowyer has two career wins at Talladega, along with six top 10 finishes. Although Truex hasn’t won at Talladega in the Cup series, he has won the Aaron’s 312 Nationwide race three years in a row. Truex has been oh so close to reaching victory lane this season and I think Talladega will be where he gets his first win of 2012.

  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 10 Richmond International Raceway – Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers – April 27, 2012

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 10 Richmond International Raceway – Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers – April 27, 2012

    [media-credit id=42 align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]Virginia is for Lovers, except when you are talking about the four weekends the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes short-track racing Old Dominion. The beating and banging of Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway mirror the short-track action Friday and Saturday nights that we all grew up on, and really take me back to some of my best times as a race fanatic. The race Saturday Night will surely be filled with fireworks and the Virginia beating and banging we’re all so fond of.

    Before I get into last week’s recap, I’d like to extend a thank you to Mr. Bruton Smith and all of Speedway Motorsports Inc. for listening to the fans regarding the modifications of Bristol Motor Speedway. Since the reconfiguration and addition of progressive banking in 2007, attendance at Bristol has steadily on the decline. I was in complete awe this March when The Last Great Coliseum was half-full at best for the spring race. I can remember a few of my first trips to Bristol when there were 10,000 race fans standing in front of the gates looking for extra tickets. It was a miracle to scalp the hardest ticket in NASCAR back then, and was a miracle if you could find a seat at face-value.

    Ultimately, it’s the fans that keep our sport alive, not the drivers, not the sponsors, not the owners… The fans are the ones spending the money to travel to the track week-in and week-out to watch 43 of the most talented drivers in the world, and when they speak, those with decision-making abilities must listen. Its not the drivers (unless they feel changes would render the track unsafe or un-drivable) that should be the tell-all in these types of decisions. If they’re not happy with the decision to tighten up the corners at Bristol, too bad, SMI must act in the best interests of NASCAR and what will put fans in the grandstands. The drivers may have liked the wide-open racing grooves over the past 5 years at Bristol Motor Speedway, but 300-something laps without a caution flag is not Bristol.

    I am excited to get back to the way racing used to be in Eastern Tennessee, and I think the track change will boost attendance back to the days when the night race at Bristol was the toughest ticket in all of NASCAR.

    Kansas Recap

    I can’t say too much about the race last week because I didn’t catch a single lap of the STP 400. My race recap will be as exciting as the race itself last week (so I hear)…

    My winner pick was points-leader Greg Biffle last week, and all I really know is he finished 4th last week, giving me my second top-5 in as many weeks.

    I picked my Dark Horse last week before the STP 400 qualifying session, and after I found out my Dark Horse eventually turned into last week’s pole-sitter, I was even more excited about my pick. But like many of my picks this season, he let me down. I now see that AJ Allmendinger finished 10-laps down in 32nd, adding to my less than impressive string of finishes this season.

    Richmond Picks

    Some people say you must hit rock bottom before you can start your climb to the top. I’m hoping that I’ve hit rock bottom just 1/4th of the way through this 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and can still salvage a respectable average finish with the remainder of my picks.

    Winner Pick

    It shouldn’t be much of a surprise as to who I pick this week to win the Capital City 400 as his stats at the ¾-mile short track. He is the defending winner of this spring race, and has two other victories at RIR under his belt. In total, Kyle Busch has finished first or second in 7 of the last 11 races at Richmond, an absolutely phenomenal statistic. He has won the race at Richmond from as far back as 20th, and came from 34th in the spring of 2007 to finish second.

    Overall, Kyle Busch has an average finish of 5.0 in 14 races in Virginia’s capital city, and is desperate to boost his points resume as he currently sits 13th, out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the other two short-track races at Bristol and Martinsville this season, Rowdy finished 32nd and 36th respectively, a stat unfitting for a guy who has won nearly 20% of the races he’s started on a short-track.

    He’s struggling to find speed as I look at the current charts (23rd fastest after 69 laps in this first practice session), but when the green flag flies, Rowdy will kick into high gear and wind up in Victory Lane.

    Dark Horse Pick

    This pick is what those of us involved with fantasy drafts often like to call “a reach”. I’m going way out on a whim to say that the JR Nation winless streak has a better chance than any race thus far to come to a close this weekend. It has been 1,412 days, 137 races, and a lifetime supply of Kleenex since JR Nation was graced with a win, and quite frankly I am ready for the streak to end.

    Besides Chicago Cubs Fans, JR Nation may be the second-most cursed fan base in the country. 137 races is unthinkable for the sport’s most popular driver, and Richmond is a fine place for the streak to end. Earnhardt Jr knows his way to victory lane at the short-track with three wins, eight top-5’s, and five top-10’s in 25 starts. Each of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers is gunning for Hendrick Motorsports’ 200th Sprint Cup Series victory.

    It may be coincidence that JR’s last win before his victory at Michigan in June 2008 was at Richmond International Raceway, or it may just be time for the streak to come to a close.

    Either way, JR is 4th in points and 15th on the speed charts following the first practice session of the day in Old Dominion.

    That’s all for this week so until we head to Talladega…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!