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  • Non-Chasers Excel in Bank Of America 500

    Non-Chasers Excel in Bank Of America 500

    Kasey Kahne

    For the third week in a row, Kasey Kahne has finished in the top-5 among the Chase contenders.  At the beginning of the race, Kahne did not have a great race car.  He complained of “rear-end up and front-end down” handling issues.  After green flag pit stops with 139 laps to go, the No. 4 crew made adjustments to correct the issues.  “Oh yea, it’s going now” Kahne replied to the crew after exiting pit road.  After pit stops, Kahne was in ninth position and was the fastest car on the track.  On the fifth caution of the night, Kahne’s Red Bull crew was able to get him out of the pits in third position, securing him a finish of fourth position.  Kahne won the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award for the Bank of America 500.  Given to the winner of the race, or the next highest finishing driver with the Mobil 1 decal on their race car.  Kasey moved up one spot in standings to 15th position.

    Marcos Ambrose

    Richard Petty Motorsports driver Marcos Ambrose was destined to do well at Charlotte Motor Speedway, having ten top-10 career finishes at intermediate tracks coming into this race.  Ambrose celebrated his fifth top-5 of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night.  Ambrose qualified his Stanley Tools Ford in 12th position and was a front runner throughout the race.  Although there were a few late-race cautions, Ambrose was able to hold his position and stay at the head of the field.  Marcos finished the race in fifth position, his third straight top-10 of the season.  The crew chief of the No. 9 car, Todd Parrott, received the Moog Problem Solver of the Race award.  Given to the crew chief that improves the most from the first half of the race to the second half, utilizing the 40 best laps times(improving 0.155 seconds).  Marcos moved two spots up in the points standings, to 18th position


    AJ Allmendinger

    Although AJ Allmendinger battled handling issues during the race, he was able to keep his Best Buy Ford in the top-10 throughout the night.  On Lap 127 Allmendinger pitted to try and correct these handling issues, but couldn’t quite seem to get it fixed.  AJ remained in the top-10 until just after Lap 200, when he fell to 12th position.  The team remained patient, pitting again under Lap 238 to make more adjustments.  With 100 laps to go, Allmendinger’s No. 43 car came to life, allowing him to finish the race in seventh position.  This marks AJ’s eighth top-10 of the season.  Leaving Charlotte, he rests in 14th position in points standings.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    After Jacquelyn Butler, David Ragan’s girlfriend won the ‘Better Half Dash’ and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne shared a heartfelt invocation, the engines fired under the lights at NASCAR’S home track, Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 52nd Annual running of the Bank of America 500.

    Surprising:  With a surprising show of emotion and his dry sense of humor emerging, the driver of the No. 17 Fluidmaster Ford took the checkered flag with whoops of joy, saying in Victory Lane that it was not too late for departing sponsor Crown Royal to reconsider staying on the car.

    Kenseth scored his victory from the outside pole position, qualifying surprising well for a driver not known for the most successful time trial efforts. This was Matt Kenseth’s 21st career victory and his third win of the year.

    “It was an awesome win for us,” Kenseth said. “It was a good race.”

    “Track position was really important, so qualifying helped,” Kenseth continued. “It made a big difference.”

    Kenseth was also surprisingly appreciative of the win, especially after not having been to the winner’s circle for twenty races.

    “I’m always thankful to get to victory lane,” Kenseth said. “You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is.”

    “I’m thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, the two drivers finishing second and third had some intense conversation with one another right after the race.

    Carl Edwards, who finished third in his No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, almost immediately jumped out his car at the finish to lean into the bridesmaid-yet-again Kyle Busch’s second place No. 18 M&Ms Toyota for a chat.

    “We were just talking about the way we were racing there,” Edwards said. “We’re fine. We’ve talked about it and we’ll move on.”

    “Hey, this is NASCAR and we’re racing as hard as we can,” Edwards continued. “And we didn’t wreck each other.”

    “He just said he didn’t like the way I raced him off Turn Two that one time when he got under me,” Busch said. “He made me loose and it was steering me down the track and I was just trying to hold on.”

    “Great run by the M&Ms Camry,” Busch, who not only rebounded from starting last to leading a race high 111 laps, continued. “Best run we’ve had here in a while but still coming up short.”

    With his finish, Edwards maintained the points lead by five, with Kyle Busch improving his position by four spots, up to the fourth position, just 18 points behind the leader.

    “Overall it was a really good day for our Aflac Fusion,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to have a championship year here and we dodged some bullets.”

    “We’ve got to keep finishing like this,” Busch said. “That’s all it takes. If we can finish second here on out, we might win this thing.”

    Surprising:  At a track often known for Chevy domination, particularly of the Hendrick Motorsports kind, it was surprising to see the Ford brand, primarily the Roushketeers, not only in victory lane but dominating the front of the field. There were four Fords to Chevrolets three in the top ten for this season’s Charlotte fall running.

    The win was also significant for Ford team Roush Fenway, marking their 298th overall victory and their 20th NASCAR victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the first Cup win for owner Jack Roush at Charlotte since 2002.

    “All of the Ford cars ran well tonight,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “It was just a matter of time until Matt broke loose from his obscurity in the back and middle of the pack and worked his way to the front.”

    As surprising as the Ford dominance was, particularly of Roush Fenway Racing, it was equally surprising to see how poorly the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team ran. The HMS highest finisher was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the 19th position.

    “I was not the faster car,” the driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet said. “We got a couple wave-arounds and had a loose wheel that cost us another lap.”

    “We just have to correct some of those mistakes,” Junior continued. “We just had a couple of little circumstances that cost us a shot at finishing in the top ten.”

    Hendrick Chevrolet teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin also had surprisingly, and uncharacteristically, difficult runs at Charlotte. Their poor finishes, 34th, 21st and 37th respectively, was surprisingly poignant for the teams sporting the Chevy 100th anniversary emblems.

    Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, went for a wild ride at one point in the race and struggled the rest. Mark Martin in the No. 5 GoDaddy.com/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, suffered mechanical problems that left him in the garage for many laps making repairs.

    Probably the toughest of the Hendrick finishers was five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Lowes/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet hit hard into the wall, taking his breath away.

    “That one stung for sure,” Johnson said of his hit. “Just thankful to have safe race cars, safe walls, softer walls and everything did its job.”

    With the wreck and the DNF, Johnson was also the biggest loser in the point standings, dropping five positions to eighth.

    “This is not going to help us win a sixth championship,” Johnson conceded. “We will go for every point we can from here on out and hopefully we are still champions at the end of the year.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising to see the infamous grin of the driver from down under after finishing fifth. Marcos Ambrose, behind the wheel of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, could not have been more pleased with his Charlotte run, scoring his third consecutive top-10.

    “I ran great,” Ambrose said simply. “I just really appreciate that opportunity.”

    RPM teammate AJ Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion, also continued his solid runs, finish seventh.

    “It’s not what I wanted, but the end result is good,” Dinger said. “I’m happy there were so many Fords in the top 10.”

    Surprising:  As surprisingly strong as Brad Keselowski has been, surging forward in race finishes as well as in the points, the driver of the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’ had an equally surprisingly tough day at Charlotte.

    Keselowski finished 16th, falling two positions to sixth in the point standings. He currently sits 25 points behind points leader Carl Edwards.

    “I feel frustratingly fortunate,” Keselowskis said. “The yellows really hurt us. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

    Not Surprising:   Tony Stewart, who scored his first pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway, overcame tight conditions as well as some damage to his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, to rally back for a top-10 finish.

    “We were good off the front there, just when we got back in traffic, we got really tight,” Smoke said. “We just kind of rallied back.”

    Not surprisingly, teammate Ryan Newman also scored a top-10 finish in his No. 39 Cookies for Kid’s Cancer/Gene Haas Foundation Chevrolet.

    “We needed to get at least that much tonight,” Newman said after the race. “We’ll take a top-10 here tonight and now it’s on to the next one.”

    With their finishes, Stewart advanced two positions to the fifth spot in the Chase, while Newman moved up one position in the points to tenth.

    Surprising:  With the image of Hall of Famer Glenn Wood on the famed No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion, it looked like the young driver Trevor Bayne had a fast car and would have a good run. Surprisingly, the car ran out of gas on Lap 238.

    “That’s a bad feeling to run out of gas, especially when you’re not expecting it,” Bayne said. “The 21 was just fast.”

    “It must have been sucking up more fuel than we thought being that fast, but I think something just had to be funky in the fuel cell or something messed up on the can.”

    Not Surprising:  Call him ‘Closer’ or ‘Lurker’ but it was not surprising to see Kevin Harvick have yet another solid race, finishing sixth and maintaining his second place position in the point standings. With that, the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet confirmed that he was just happy to be at the half-way in the Chase race.

    “We made it through the first five Chase races this year,” Harvick said. “We had had a lot of goals that we wanted to achieve this year and that was one of them.”

    “IF you would have told me we would come out of Charlotte with only a five point deficit going into the next five races, I would be really happy.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    With the wind whipping as is so typical in the land of Toto and Aunty Em, the fourth race in the Chase, the 11th Annual Hollywood Casino 400, was run at the 1.5 mile paved tri-oval that is Kansas Speedway.  Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from the 267 laps, 400.5 mile race.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Surprising:  It has been a bit surprising just how much the race winner has seemingly been toying with not only the media, but the race fans. At the beginning of the Chase, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had fallen from eighth to tenth in the point standings, particularly due to his 18th place finish at Loudon.

    At that point, many media pundits had begun to write off the chances for a sixth consecutive championship, especially since the tension seemed to be mounting between the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet and his crew chief Chad Knaus.

    Yet Jimmie Johnson again proved that he still has what it takes by scoring his 55th career victory and his 20th career victory in the Chase, the latter being the most ever, tying him with Rusty Wallace for eighth on the all-time wins list.

    And, yes, ‘old five time’ has yet again made his way toward the top of the leader board, up two positions to third, just four points out of the coveted top spot.

    “I told you not to count him out,” Hendrick Motorsport teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “I think the media made a big deal out of the runs he was having and they were a long ways out of the lead in the points.”

    “But that’s a great race team,” Junior continued. “You don’t win five in a row on luck, you know? You don’t just trip over the championship trophy; you do it because you’re great.”

    “And they’ll win the championship this year if anybody doesn’t get going.”

    Not Surprising:  Although most often it is the female fan base flirting with this driver, Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota for the remaining races of the season before heading to Hendrick Motorsports next year, continues to flirt with a race win.

    To no one’s surprise, Kahne finished second, scoring his third top-10 finish in nine races at Kansas, as well as his 10th top-10 finish in 2011.

    “The biggest thing to me would be to leave on a good note,” Kahne said. “There are a lot of people there working really hard and unsure about maybe their future and where they’re going to work next year, and they’re still putting everything they have into our race cars each week.”

    “That’s pretty awesome on their part.”

    Surprising:  In addition to the wind, there was also a good deal of smoke, of all sorts, in Kansas City. The driver known as ‘Smoke’, was instead the cause of some, smoking his tires on a pit stop, causing him to not only slide wildly through his box but also lose eight positions on the track.

    Tony Stewart, piloting his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished the race in the 15th position and fell four positions to seventh in the Chase standings.

    ‘Smoke’ immediately admitted his error, telling his team that his foot had accidentally hit the accelerator when he was trying to brake. But the uncharacteristic error caused the driver to come out as the last car on the lead lap, relegating him to a less-than-stellar finish.

    Another surprising bit of smoke at Kansas was the one that erupted on lap 265 when four-time champ Jeff Gordon’s engine expired. The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, who looked strong all race long, finished 34th, dropping him to tenth in the point standings, 47 points out of first.

    “I started seeing smoke inside the car,” Gordon said. “We had a really bad restart and got shuffled back.”

    “Our day was pretty much over and we were going to finish maybe 15th or something,” Gordon continued. “I started to smell burning oil and saw the oil temp start to come up.”

    “I felt like it was just a matter of time before it blew up.”

    Not Surprising:  Although actually gaining one position in the point standings, from tenth to ninth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the HMS No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet, to no one’s surprise now seems to be focusing more on race wins than a championship.

    “I just want to win a race,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It’s a goal of mine right now to just go out there and win.”

    “Man, if we could do that, that would really, no matter what happened in the Chase, I think we’d be real happy with our season.”

    Surprising:  While loose and tight are most often descriptors for action on the track, it is surprising that those words also apply to Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

    On one hand, the driver of the No. 2 Blue Deuce seems to be looser than loose, finishing third in the Kansas race. This was Keselowski’s second top-10 finish in four races at Kansas Speedway.

    And that top-5 finish moved the driver up two spots to fourth in the Chase, just eleven points behind the leader.

    “This year, it seems like as a group, we’re just clicking,” Keselowski said. “We’re doing a good job of maximizing our day and taking care of everything that’s in our control.”

    “I’m really proud of our team for doing that.”

    On the flip side, Keselowski’s teammate Kurt Busch just seems tight, tight, tight behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge. Busch managed to finish 13th, but still lost two spots in the Chase standings to the sixth position.

    “We got behind in qualifying and had to start 17th,” Busch said. “We ran from 15th to 20th most of the day and caught a break; we got the lucky dog to get back on the lead lap.”

    “We were still a top-10 car when the green-white-checker came out but just couldn’t hold on to a top 10,” Busch continued. “The fresher tires got us.”

    Not Surprising:   There were at least two ‘come back kids’ that surprised no one. The first was the driver of the No. 99 Alfac Ford, Carl Edwards, who rallied from a too-aggressive set up prior to the race, relegating him to needing to be the ‘lucky dog’ to finish fifth.

    With that top-five finish, Edwards scored the points lead, just one point over second place Kevin Harvick.

    “I cannot believe we finished fifth,” Edwards said. “It feels like a win.”

    “That’s the best we’ve done with the worst,” Edwards continued. “I just cannot believe from the way the day started to finish like that is spectacular.”

    The other ‘comeback kid’ was Greg Biffle. Although not in the Chase, the driver of the No. 16 Sherwin-Williams Ford and pole sitter for the race, rallied back from a pit road speeding penalty to finish eighth.

    “Our car wasn’t that good,” Biffle said. “I don’t know what happened with the speeding on pit road.”

    “That was stupid,” Biffle said. “My car just wasn’t that good in traffic, which is where I got hurt there at the end.”

    Surprising:  There was a surprising rash of drivers missing driver introductions prior to the Hollywood Casino 400. A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann and Reed Sorenson all had to move to the back of the field for the start of the race due to their absence at the pre-race intros.

    Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford, finished the best of the group at 25th. Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, finished 35th and Sorenson, who had lost his Turner Motorsports Nationwide ride, finished 38th in his No. 7 SPEED Energy/MAPEI/Menards Dodge Cup ride.

    Not Surprising:  With his career decided, it was not surprising that the driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing finished top-10. Prior to the race festivities, Bowyer confirmed that he will move in 2012 to the Michael Waltrip Racing stables.

    “All in all, it wasn’t a bad day,” Bowyer said. “That’s the last time I’ll be able to run here with these cars.”

    “Hopefully, we’ll get one next time.”

    Surprising:  Hendrick Motorsports is surprisingly close to scoring a record of its own thanks to driver Johnson taking the checkered flag. HMS is just shy of their 200th win, which would put them squarely behind Richard Petty Motorsports with 268 all-time wins.

    Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, again thanks to Johnson’s win, Chevrolet clinched their 35th Cup manufacturer’s championship, assuming a Chevrolet will start each of the final six races.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Wonderful Pistachios 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Wonderful Pistachios 400

    [media-credit name=”Ted Seminara” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]With tributes to the troops, America and to all lost on September 11th, NASCAR’s finest took to the Richmond International Raceway to determine the twelve who will Chase for the Championship. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 54th annual Wonderful Pistachios 400.

    Surprising:  The unhappiness of this driver with his car at the beginning of the race contrasted starkly with his surprisingly overwhelming joy and happiness in Victory Lane. And yet even in victory, the winner of the race stopped to pay tribute to those who serve and to the country, as well as to his mother on her birthday.

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, claimed his fourth victory of the 2011 season and his second victory in 22 races at Richmond, locking him into a tie for the top seed in the Chase.

    “This is pretty awesome,” Harvick said as he climbed out of the car to cheers and spraying of the sponsor’s product. “First thing I want to do is thank all of our troops for everything they do for us. This is a special weekend.”

    “And I want to say ‘happy birthday’ to my mom tomorrow,” Harvick continued. “This is just a great night and a great weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  Although getting in by the skin of their teeth, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Denny Hamlin overcame problems during the race to finish seventh, sixteenth, and ninth respectively, establishing their places in the Chase, ninth, tenth and twelfth respectively.

    “I’m probably most proud of the fact that we’ve had six opportunities to be in the Chase and we’ve made it five out of the six,” Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, said. “We’re able to sit up here tonight and say we’ve made this thing.”

    “I wouldn’t have predicted it halfway through the year with the way our season was going, but real appreciative of our guys who kept their heads up and kept working really hard.”

    “Well we just kept working and trying to fix the car,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said of his No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet. “We were tore up pretty bad in the front end and was just really loose in. We worked on it and worked on it and fought for everything we could.”

    “It was an unbelievable comeback,” Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota. “This car really is destroyed and it’s amazing how fast we got this car considering the circumstances.”

    “We were just able to motor up through there.”

    Surprising:  Although Richmond is a short track and tempers traditionally run hot, it was surprising the intensity of the feelings between one-time champion Kurt Busch and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who managed to find one another yet again to bring out the eleventh caution of the race.

    “We raced down into Turn One and I locked up the left front trying to avoid him,” Busch, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, said of Johnson. “When he came back to us, you could see it coming.”

    “That’s not something you see from Jimmie Johnson every day,” Busch continued. “So I know we’re in his head.”

    “He’s got to learn to race,” Busch said. “He’s been able to beat guys the last five years just by out driving them just what he has for equipment.”

    “I’m going to beat him fair and square with my Penske Dodge.”

    “I got run over going into (Turn) One,” Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Power of Pride Chevrolet, said after the race. “If you’re going to spin me out, I’m going to spin you out.”

    “It’s just part of it,” Johnson continued. “I’m sure I’ll go find him and talk to him and he’ll run his mouth and we’ll go from there.”

    “I’ve worked very hard to not have any contact with him,” Johnson said. “I made a move to break the draft and I didn’t touch his car.”

    “He instigated it and ran into the side of me,” Johnson continued. “If he can stop running into my Lowe’s Chevrolet, everything will be just fine.”

    Busch finished fifth in the race and, in stark contrast, Johnson finished 31st. Johnson, however, now becomes the only driver to qualify for each of the eight Chase competitions, from 2004 to 2010.

    Johnson is seeded sixth in the Chase and Busch is ironically right behind him in the seventh spot.

    Not Surprising:  In contrast to the hot tempers, three drivers in particular remained calm, cool and collected to not only finish the race with top ten finishes, but secure their places firmly in the Chase.

    Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford, almost caught winner Kevin Harvick in the final laps of the race, settling instead for a second place finish. This was Edwards’ seventh top-10 finish in 15 races at Richmond and his 17th top -10 finish this season.

    “Well, once I get over the frustration of not winning this thing, I am going to be really excited about how fast our team is,” Edwards said. “We really turned things around tonight.”

    “That is the best we have run on a short track in years,” Edwards continued. “That was huge. I had a good time and I am ready to go get this Chase on.”

    Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, was bitten by the final caution to score a third place finish. This was, however, Gordon’s 24th top-10 finish in 38 races at Richmond.

    “That definitely did not fall our way, but that was a great battle,” Gordon said. “That was fun.”

    “This team has got me excited and they’re on fire,” Gordon continued. “To be up there to take the lead and have a shot at winning that thing was awesome. We’re very excited.”

    And Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, decked out in a red, white and blue 9/11 tribute paint scheme, scored a sixth place finish after recovering from losing a lap due to a loose wheel.

    “It was just a hard-fought battle tonight, and certainly we had to battle through more adversity than we would have like to,” Busch said. “But that’s what’s going to make us better.”

    “We fought through everything it seemed,” Busch continued. “It was fun to drive that thing.”

    Surprising:  Red Bull Racing had a surprisingly bad day, with Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, wrecking twice, once with a tire going down and once into his own teammate Brian Vickers, behind the wheel of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, as a result of contact with Marcos Ambrose.

    “I just know I started to turn when the 83 hit me hard,” Kahne said. “It was a weird deal.”

    Vickers had an even stronger reaction, expressing his anger both on and off the track at Ambrose. Although speculation had it that Vickers had been parked by NASCAR, he ended up spending a great deal of time on pit road attempting to repair the car before visiting the NASCAR hauler after the race.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that several drivers just out of the top twelve came oh, so close to making their Chase dreams a possibility.

    A.J. Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford, had a great run, finishing 11th. Yet he still came up short, remaining in the 13th position in the point standings.

    Clint Bowyer, driving the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, also gave it his best college try, only to finish 22nd after a difficult run, including losing his air conditioning ten laps into the race and tangling with fellow competitor David Ragan, also trying to  make the Chase in his No. 6 UPS ‘We Love Logistics’ Ford.

    “I got under David and I didn’t get any room left and spun myself out,” Bowyer said. “I drove as hard as I could and gambled and did what we could to try to win the race.”

    “Nothing’s gone our way since Charlotte half way through our season,” Bowyer continued. “There’s always next year.”

    Surprising:  Stephen Leicht, in only his second career race, had a good run for the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet. Although Leicht finished 24th, he was in contention throughout, demonstrating that his time away from the sport has not hurt his abilities behind the wheel.

    Not Surprising:  Brad Keselowski, again showing that he is NASCAR’s hottest driver, brought the Blue Deuce to the checkered flag in the 12th position. ‘Kes’ has now cemented his place firmly in the Chase seeded 11th.

    “We just didn’t give up,” Keselowski said. “We got a little momentum going.”

    “When the Chase comes you’ve got to out-finish what you have for a car and we’re doing that,” Keselowski continued. “It’s Chase time and we’ve got the Blue Deuce in it.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta AdvoCare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta AdvoCare 500

    With a rain delay of days instead of hours, the NASCAR Sprint Cup race which was to have run at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday evening of the Labor Day weekend, was finally completed on Tuesday afternoon. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 52nd annual AdvoCare 500.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Surprising:  While one five-time champion Hendrick Motor Sports driver is usually the one peaking at this stage of the season, it was most surprising that the other HMS four-time champion instead took the checkered flag for the multi-day rain-delayed race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, beat out his teammate to score an historic 85th victory, placing him solely in the third position of all-time wins in NASCAR.

    This was Gordon’s third victory for the season and his 13th top-10 finish in 2011.

    “This team is on a roll,” Gordon said. “I don’t care if it’s Sunday or Monday or Tuesday; to have a race like that, man, that’s awesome. It feels awesome.”

    Gordon was also feeling awesome by making history, in addition to celebrating his daughter Ella’s first day of school.

    “I just feel rejuvenated in such a big way,” Gordon said. “85 yeah! I can’t wait to get home and celebrate with these guys and my family. 85, wow!”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was the one nipping at Gordon’s heels, careening sideways behind his teammate to take the checkered flag in the runner up position.

    This was Johnson’s 13th top-10 finish in 20 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    “Man, that is what racing is all about,” Johnson said. “I am grateful that I got to grow up racing off-road trucks and buggies because I was dead sideways those last 10 or 15 laps.”

    Since the Chase is looming with just the Richmond race to set the championship field, it was also not surprising to see Johnson take the points lead, now 21 points ahead of Kyle Busch.

    When asked about that, Johnson said with a smile and a laugh, “Yeah, we’re just having a terrible year. So, hopefully we can pick things up a little bit.”

    Surprising:  Two drivers who were having much-needed good runs ended up with surprisingly bad finishes.  Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, got into it with Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 241, dashing Bowyer’s hopes for any Chase possibilities with his 36th place finish.

    “We’re out here racing for a spot in the Chase,” Bowyer said after being released from the infield care center. “He’s out here racing for nothing.”

    “I’m tired of it,” Bowyer continued of his tussle with JPM. “He’s just an idiot.”

    The other driver with a surprisingly good run but bad finish was David Ragan, behind the wheel of the No. 6 UPS Ford. Ragan, also hoping to make the Chase, was running in the top ten for much of the race, only to fall victim to engine failure.

    “I bet there’s still a mathematical chance that we could win Richmond and get into the top 20 and make the Chase,” Ragan said optimistically. “And that’s certainly the mindset we’re going to have.”

    “We’re not going to give up no matter what.”

    Not Surprising:  Both Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart held serve on their ninth and tenth place positions respectively in the point standings.

    While the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet had an outstanding run, finishing third, the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Military Intelligence/Amp Energy Chevrolet had an unsurprisingly tough run, finishing 19th.

    This was Stewart’s 15th top-10 finish in 25 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    “It was just a really good Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy,” Smoke said. “It was a long day for sure and we battled a lot of adversity to get up there. I’m just really proud of these guys.”

    “It was not a good day,” Junior said in contrast. “We didn’t have a good car.”

    “We worked on it a little bit and had a couple decent runs where we were competitive, but just fought the car all day long and just couldn’t make anything happen.”

    Both drivers can clinch positions in the Chase for the Cup championship at the next race in Richmond. Stewart will clinch if he finishes 18th or better, 19th or better and leads one lap, or 20th or better and leads the most laps.

    Earnhardt, Jr. will clinch is he finishes 20th or better, 21st or better and leads at least one lap, or 22nd or better and leads the most laps.

    Surprising:  After leading laps and looking like a race win contender, it was surprising to see the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion slide back after one of the race’s rain delays to finish ninth.

    “After the rain, we didn’t do anything to the car,” Matt Kenseth said. “We just put a set of tires on it and it was junk.”

    “I don’t really know what happened,” Kenseth continued. “We had a lot of speed and it was pretty fast the first half of the race, but we just struggled after that.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising, yet again, to see Brad Keselowski continue his ‘Iron Man’ performance since injuring himself in a testing wreck. The driver of the ‘Blue Deuce’ finished sixth, locking himself into the Chase.

    Surprising:  In addition to the race winners, there were other winners at Atlanta as well.  First and foremost were all of the children battling cancer that were featured on Carl Edward’s car. In their honor, the driver of the No. 99 Aflac ‘Friends of a Feather’, finished top-five.

    “We appreciate Aflac being on board with the Aflac Cancer Center,” Edwards said. “It’s Aflac.com/friends if you want to help these kids out.”

    “These are great kids,” Edwards continued. “We wish we would have gotten a win for them, but it was a good run.”

    Another winner was Huckleberry Pets, who scored the ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ title thanks to Tony Stewart’s great run.

    “It was great to get Huckleberry Pets the title today,” Stewart said. “I wish we could have won her a million dollars, but we did the best we could.”

    Not Surprising:  Unfortunately, but not surprising, no one claimed the Sprint Summer Showdown bonus. While several drivers were eligible to win a million for themselves, their charities and their respective fans, not one was able to score the ultimate promotion.

    Sadly, fans Andrea Gay, Helene Cross, Ron Rempinski, Dana Hardie, and Molly Hilyard did not find their Sprint pot of gold since Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch respectively did not take the checkered flag at Atlanta.

    Surprising:  In a surprising driver swap, Mike Skinner actually got to finish a race, and did so solidly in 27th place. Skinner climbed into the No. 36 Collective Soul/Golden Corral Chevrolet for Dave Blaney who was suffering from kidney stones.

    Not Surprising: A.J. Allmendinger continued his solid run streak, this time with a 10th place finish in his No. 43 Best Buy Ford.

    “That’s where we are as a team right now,” Allmendinger said. “We’re about an eighth to a 12th or 13th place race team, but that’s better than where we had been, so that’s the improvement I’m looking for.”

    “If we can just keep getting there, whether we make the Chase or not, then I’ll be really happy with the season.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Irish eyes were smiling in the hills surrounding Michigan International Speedway, keeping the rain which had plagued the last two Cup races, at bay. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 42nd annual running of the Pure Michigan 400.

    [media-credit name=”Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Surprising:  Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, could not have summed up the surprisingly bad day for his manufacturer and team any more succinctly.

    With a surprisingly uncharacteristic engine failure, Edwards was Ford’s worst finisher at Michigan, a track where not only has Ford excelled but where Roush Fenway Racing has traditionally had free reign to play at the front of the field.

    “I thought we would have a Ford in Victory Lane,” Edwards said. “I thought one way or another, we would win this thing.”

    “It was a very tough race,” Edwards said. “We weren’t expecting a failure like that.”

    Edwards lagged behind his Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth, who finished in 10th in the No. 17 Kroger Ford Fusion; David Ragan, driving the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion, who brought home a 12th place finish; and pole sitter Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, who finished a disappointing 20th after leading the most laps in the race.

    Biffle was as surprised by his disappointing finish as his teammate Edwards was of his finish and engine failure.

    “I don’t know what happened,” Biffle said. “I have a feeling we kinda got a bum set of tires and then we got off on our adjustments. I really don’t know what happened.”

    Not Surprising:  After being ever so close to Victory Lane at both Pocono and Watkins Glen, it was no surprise that the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota outran a five-time champ in a green-white-checkered finish to finally took the checkered flag and made his trademark celebratory bow.

    This victory was Kyle Busch’s first at Michigan International Speedway. It was his fifth top-10 finish in 14 races at Michigan.

    “Today the car was flawless,” Busch said. “We knew the restart would be treacherous but I got a good run on the top-side and I was able to take the lead off Turn Two and set our sights on the checkered flag from there.”

    With his fourth victory of the season, including this win at the Irish hills, Busch was also the first driver to officially clinch his berth in the championship Chase. And with Edwards’ poor finish, Busch now sits alone at the top of the leader board.

    “It feels awesome,” Busch said of his guaranteed Chase spot. “It gives us an added bonus to just go out there and race for wins. We certainly feel good about it.”

    Surprising:  Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, continues to surprise all by starring in his own sequel, ‘Iron Man Part Three.’ Keselowski finished third in the Pure Michigan 400, his third straight top-three finish since breaking his ankle and wrenching his back in a testing crash.

    This was Keselowski’s first top-10 finish in five races at Michigan. With his finish, Keselowski also moved ever so close to Chase contention, moving up two positions in the point standings to 12th.

    “It was a good effort,” Keselowski said. “It was a great day, with great execution and I’m proud of my team.”

    “I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Keselowski said of his Chase chances. “I feel better every week.”

    Not Surprising:  With the Chase race heating up, it is no surprise that the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet has found his groove, as well as his lucky horseshoe. Jimmie Johnson, who like Busch has also never won at Michigan, scored a career-best second place finish.

    This was Johnson’s eighth top-10 finish in 20 races in the Irish hills. It is also his 15th top-10 finish in the 2011 season to date.

    “It was a great finish for the Lowe’s team,” Johnson said. “We had a tough start to the race on pit road and on the race track but we got that ironed out.”

    “Good runs put so much confidence in the driver and the team,” Johnson continued. “It felt good to be racing with the leader and have a shot at it.”

    Surprising:  Although Stewart-Haas Racing had a surprisingly good day at Michigan, with Ryan Newman finishing fifth in his No. 39 Wix Filters Chevrolet, and team owner Tony Stewart also finishing top ten in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, the latter seemed surprisingly depressed after the race.

    “I don’t know what we got to do to get one balanced for a day but we haven’t figured it out yet,” Stewart said. “We were on both sides of the coin today between tight and loose.”

    “I’ll be perfectly honest at this stage in the deal if we’re going to run this bad, it really doesn’t matter if we make the Chase or not,” Smoke continued. “Our stuff’s so bad right now we’re wasting one of those top 12 spots.”

    Not Surprising:  On the flip side, it was no surprise to see the Hendrick Motorsports gang have a good day on the sweeping turns of Michigan International Speedway. Following closely behind runner up Jimmie Johnson, HMS teammate Mark Martin finished fourth in the No. 5 Carquest/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    “It’s an incredible privilege to drive stuff like that,” Martin said. “We were right there and could see the lead and anytime you can see the lead, you feel like you have a crack at it. I feel very fortunate.”

    HMS four-time champ Jeff Gordon also had a decent day at the office, finishing sixth in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, moving up another spot in the point standings to sixth as well. Gordon also made history, marking over 22,000 laps led in his career.

    “All in all, a solid day for the Dupont Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “I loved the effort and the cars and team that we are bringing to the race track. It was a lot of fun out there.”

    The final driver, piloting the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet for Mr. Hendrick, had a fairly good race as well. In spite of pit problems, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished fourteenth, keeping himself solidly in the ninth spot in the Chase standings.

    “I had some awesome runs and the car was really fast,” Junior said. “And then I put on some tires and I couldn’t drive the car. We had some bad stuff happen on pit road, but we drove it back up there.”

    Surprising:  With a starting spot of fourth, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota had high hopes for redemption in Michigan, as well as the hope of keeping his Chase chances alive. Surprisingly, in spite of Denny Hamlin’s new engine, he struggled throughout the race, hitting the wall and heading to the garage to repair significant right front suspension damage.

    Hamlin finished the race in 35th and lost two positions in the point standings, falling to a disappointing 14th, barely hanging on to any chances of a Chase berth.

    Not Surprising:  Coming off his top-10 finish at the Glen, it was not surprising that A J Allmendinger almost pulled off another one at MIS. The driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports powered through the field from his 29th place start to finish 11th.

    Surprising:  On the flip side, the Dinger’s teammate Marcos Ambrose, winner of the Cup race at Watkins Glen last weekend and the Nationwide race in Montreal this weekend, had a surprisingly frustrating day.

    The driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion started out strong but then was tagged from behind by Kevin Harvick while trying to pit, shoving his car head first into the pit wall, relegating him to a 27th place finish.

    “That was frustrating,” Ambrose said. “We had a good car and we were top-10 a lot of the day.”

    “We just kept getting tighter and tighter,” Ambrose continued. “We had a hole in the grill. That really hurt us and we ended up turned around in the pit there at the end, so that hurt us too.”

    Not Surprising: Although the driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet qualified poorly and started 35th, it was no surprise to see him drive as hard as he could to a top-ten finish. With Clint Bowyer’s 8th place finish at Michigan, he has managed to hang on to the 11th spot in the Chase standings.

    “It was a good, hard fought battle all day long,” Bowyer said of his race. “From where we started, starting 35th, getting up there in the top ten, we had a good car all day long.”

    “We gained but not near enough. We’re running out of time but if we keep digging, who knows what’s going to happen.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

    Not to be outdone by the weather at Pocono last weekend, Watkins Glen International took it one step further with a full course, one day rain delay. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Monday matinee Cup race at the Glen.

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Surprising:  In a race in which he started from the pole position and clearly dominated, leading three times for a record-high 49 laps, it was surprising that Kyle Busch was not in Victory Lane yet again. The driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota took the checkered flag in the third position, one back from his runner up position at Pocono the weekend before.

    Busch lost the lead on the final restart, a green-white-checkered one at that, of the race. Known for his usually stout re-starts, Busch made a surprising mistake in Turn One, taking it just a bit wide enough to allow both Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose through to the lead.

    “Just knew exactly what not to do and did it anyway,” Busch said. “I just screwed up.”

    “I felt like we were right there and had a shot to win,” Busch continued. “I knew it was going to come down to one corner and I messed it up.”

    Surprisingly, although Busch did not score the win, he did re-emerge as the co-leader in the point standings. Busch climbed two spots to tie with Carl Edwards, both atop the Chase leader board with 752 points each.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising to see road course redemption collide with another first time winner, resulting in Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, being in Victory Lane.  With his loss of the win at Sonoma due to his own error firmly behind him, Ambrose redeemed himself to become NASCAR’s fifth first-time winner of the season.

    “I’ve fought so much to get here, to finally win and be in Victory Lane is a dream come true,” Ambrose said. “To win in the Cup Series is an incredible feeling and I’m very, very proud.”

    Ambrose’s win was Richard Petty Motorsports first since 2009 when Kasey Kahne won on the road course at Infineon. Ambrose’s win officially came on his 105th Cup start.

    “It’s just a dream day,” Ambrose continued. “The sacrifices you make to be a contender in the Cup Series, to finally get to Victory Lane is a dream come true for me.”

    Surprising:  As surprising as Brad Keselowski’s ‘Iron Man’ performance was at Pocono, with his win there in spite of his broken ankle, the driver of the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’ pulled off an ‘Iron Man Redux’, with a runner up score at the Glen.

    “I wouldn’t say it got easier,” Keselowski said of racing with his injured ankle. “But when your car is fast, you can put a lot of stuff behind you and make it work.”

    “I think that’s about as good as the racing gets right there,” Keselowski continued. “I’m proud to be a part of it. Life is good when you have fast race cars.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the stars of several other traditionally good road racers shone at the Glen. Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished seventh and AJ Allmendinger, who started outside pole in his No. 43 Best Buy Ford, finished eighth.

    Allmendinger was particularly proud to not only see his Richard Petty Motorsports teammate in Victory Lane, but also took great pride in his comeback after an altercation with Kurt Busch early in the race.

    “It’s great to see Marcos in Victory Lane and it’s great for the team,” Allmendinger said. “I’m proud of my guys and proud of the way we fought back all day. The car was fast.”

    “Our Target Chevy was really good,” Juan Pablo Montoya said. “I thought we had a winning car. We were really close but it was all okay. It was a good day for us.”

    Surprising:  It was most surprising to see Boris Said and Greg Biffle channeling the fighting spirits of two other competitors, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch. This week, instead of Johnson and Busch feuding, it was Said and Biffle who were trading paint on the track and harsh words in the garage as well.

    Said, standing in for Landon Cassill in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction/Thank A Teacher Today Security Benefit Chevrolet, was furious with the way Biffle, in his No. 16 Valvoline Ford, raced him in the waning laps, especially since Biffle was a lap down at the time.

    Said accused Biffle of ‘flipping him off’ and Biffle countered by accusing Said of causing the last race crash that sent two cars hard into the wall. After the race, the disagreement really heated up into not only harsh words but also some attempted punches.

    “He wouldn’t even let me get out of the car and he comes over and throws a few little baby punches,” Said said of Biffle. “Then when I get out, he runs away and hides behind some big guys.”

    “But he won’t hide from me long,” Said continued. “I won’t settle it out on the track. It’s not right to wreck cars.”

    “But he’ll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days.”

    Biffle, for his part, had equally strong reactions.

    “Let me tell you something,” Biffle said. “Boris, the ‘road course ringer’ caused that wreck. He did the same thing to me earlier in the race.”

    “Then ‘Mr. Class’ pulls in behind my truck after the race today,” Biffle continued. “How unprofessional and disrespectful.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the aforementioned feud between Johnson and Busch did not continue to percolate at the Glen, especially since the two drivers were nowhere near each other on the race track.

    The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge spun early in the race and then lost his brakes on Lap 49 after a tire failure sent him hard into the wall. Busch did not finish the race, scored in the 38th position, causing him to fall two positions to sixth in the point standings.

    “I had a big problem getting into the braking zones today,” Busch said. “I had to crank eight rounds of front brake into our car just to survive.”

    “All that does is generate brake heat and I blew out the left-front tire,” Busch continued. “It was a bummer of a day.”

    Johnson, on the other hand, had a top-ten finish in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet. The five-time champ currently sits just six points behind Chase co-leaders Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

    “We had a great day,” Johnson said. “To have the pace that we did all day long, even though we weren’t up there leading, we had a very fast race car and that’s what we wanted to have here.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising that a 15th place finish left NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his crew chief Steve Letarte feeling so very optimistic. Both agreed that they ‘did what they had to do’ to solidify their place in the Chase, a place where Junior has not been for the past three years.

    Dale Junior, admittedly not a lover of road course racing, scored his first top-15 in six years of racing at the Glen. The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet now sits solidly in the ninth spot in the Chase standings.

    “I think we’re a good enough team to make the Chase bar none,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We should be able to get in there no problem.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising at all that the calls for safer barriers at Watkins Glen International have intensified after several very hard hits at the road course in the midst of the Finger Lakes.

    Not only did Kurt Busch hit hard into the wall, but Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, also lost his brakes and took a nasty lick head on into the tire barrels.

    “Something blew out in the left front,” Hamlin said after being checked and released from the infield care center after his hit. “I had no brakes. There was nothing you could do.”

    The worst of the hard hits, however, came in the final lap of the race where David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford, wrecked hard himself and then spun into David Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, sending him into the air and into the wall as well.

    Both Davids were rattled but escaped major injuries, exiting gingerly from their mangled race cars as they attempted to catch their collective breaths.

    “It’s just a product of close quarters racing at the end,” Ragan said. “I’m sore. That was a hard hit.”

    “I looked down at my feet and my pedals and my leg rests were all pushed over,” Ragan continued. “It’s a shame that a race track we go to in 2011 doesn’t have a better wall design all the way around the race track.”

    “Hopefully they’ll look at that,” Ragan said. “I’ve been to some dirt tracks that have better walls than that.”

    “This is one of the bigger hits I would say, but it’s part of the gig,” Reutimann said. “You sign up to do this stuff every once and awhile and you’re going to hit something.”

    “Overall I’m okay,” Reutimann continued. “I’m thinking where I hit would probably be a good place for SAFER barriers.”

    “I’m good and will be ready for Michigan next week.”

  • A J Allmendinger: ‘We’ve Just Got To Be Better’

    A J Allmendinger: ‘We’ve Just Got To Be Better’

    A J Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, sits in 17th in the point standings without a win. Yet what really bothers him is his inconsistency and the need to ‘just bet better.”

    “I think we’re not as good as we want to be for sure,” Allmendinger said. “The biggest thing is that we are just a little bit too inconsistent.”

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]“There are certain races when we’re on and we’re fast and then it seems like something happens, like a late race yellow catching us out,” Allmendinger continued. “But when we’re bad, we’ve been really bad.”

    “It seems like last year when we were bad, we were 18th or 19th and now this year, we’re 29th,” Allmendinger continued. “Those are the things we’ve got to get better.”

    “We’re just too inconsistent and that’s something we need to work on and build from,” Allmendinger continued. “I think we haven’t done a lot of things to shoot ourselves in the foot and taken ourselves out of races, but we just need to be better overall as a race team.”

    Allmendinger is most certainly putting a great deal of faith in his new crew chief, Greg Erwin, who joined RPM shortly after being released by Roush Fenway Racing as Greg Biffle’s crew chief. In fact, Allmendinger was most pleased with their performance at the Brickyard, even though the team finished in the 22nd spot.

    “Hopefully with the addition of Greg, we will improve,” Allmendinger said. “I thought Indy last week was actually a fantastic weekend.”

    “The finish wasn’t what we wanted,” Allmendinger continued. “It came down to fuel and then that wreck that happened and we got some grass in the grille.”

    “Assessing the weekend, I thought it was a really good weekend, especially the first weekend working together,” Allmendinger said. “Hopefully, that’s something to build off of and these last whatever races.”

    “It’s a new start,” Allmendinger continued. “Greg’s got a lot of experience and it’s stuff that I can pull from and learn from.”

    “There’s a lot of these race tracks that are our weaker tracks that Greg’s been really good at so I say, that’s stuff that I can learn from,” Allmendinger said. “Hopefully we can go to these races and have better luck and be better as a race team.”

    With his new crew chief, Allmendinger certainly hopes that the stretch of first time winners may just extend to him. But he also jokes that the only way that will happen is by attrition.

    “People point to me because there’s not a whole lot of first time winners left,” Allmendinger said. “So, it’s about attrition.”

    “Honestly in the end, winning is the ultimate goal when you show up,” Allmendinger continued. “But we’ve got a long way to go to worry about that.”

    “Maybe this weekend, we are good enough to win,” Allmendinger said. “Who knows? But that’s the way I look at it.”

    Allmendinger also has his own unique way of looking at Pocono Raceway. And he definitely thinks the track lives up to its ‘Tricky Triangle’ reputation.

    “It is definitely tricky,” Allmendinger said. “The shifting definitely added a different element back into it. And Turn One was way rougher than it had been in the previous years.”

    “You’ve got to be able to get through those bumps and be solid through that corner,” Allmendinger continued. “But you can’t focus on it so much that it hurts Turns Two and Three.”

    “I think that’s what happened last race,” Allmendinger said. “We were so bad in One and we kept trying to fix it that we made Two and Three even worse.”

    “I think that watching some videos and talking to Greg about some things, we’re going to go in with a different game plan and keep working on it,” Allmendinger continued. “We weren’t terrible last race but we weren’t great. Greg’s brought some stuff over that he learned when he was with Biffle, so we’ll see.”

    In addition to worrying about Pocono weekend, Allmendinger also has contention for the Chase on his mind.

    “The door is definitely not closed,” Allmendinger said of his Chase chances. “We have six races left and we’re not that far from being that highest guy in points that if you do get the win, you move into the Chase spot.”

    “But ultimately if you win a race on luck and you’re not good enough to be in the Chase, then there’s no point to being in the Chase anyways.”

    Whether or not he is in the Chase or outside looking in, Allmendinger just wants to be better in the latter half of the season than when they took the green flag at Daytona.

    “Chase or not, my ultimate goal is to say we’re a lot better than we were in the last races of the season than we were in the first part,” Allmendinger said. “Then, that’s a good year to me. The ultimate goal is to be better at the end of the season than when you started.”

    “We’ve just got to be better,” Allmendinger continued. “That’s all that matters. And whether that puts us in the Chase or not, then whatever.”

    “But in the end, we’ve just got to be better.”

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 9 – Kentucky – Quaker State 400 – July 9, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 9 – Kentucky – Quaker State 400 – July 9, 2011

    [media-credit name=”KentuckySpeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to the state known not for stock car racing, but for its horse racing. Yes, each year the Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony for the most prestigious horse race in the world, the Kentucky Derby. Not only does the Kentucky Derby Festival hold the world’s largest fireworks display in the world, but Kentucky holds more gold in storage inside the vaults of Fort Knox, than any other place in the world. Over $6 billion dollars worth of gold calls Kentucky home in the underground storage vaults.

    Enough with the quirky facts about the state and onto the RACING!

    Just 11 years ago, Jerry Carroll’s dream came became a reality when he opened the front gates to Kentucky Speedway on June 16, 2000. It was two years and $153 million dollars that finally got the track opened for its first event, a Slim Jim All Pro Series race. The day following, Greg Biffle won the first NASCAR sanctioned race at Kentucky in the Camping World Truck Series. Since then, Kentucky Speedway has been a stop for the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, IZOD IndyCar Series, and the Firestone Indy Light Series.

    In 2008, the track was purchased from owner Jerry Carroll by Speedway Motorsports Inc with the intent to host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event during the 2009 racing season. Bruton Smith put an additional $50 million into the track, expanding the seating of the track from 66,000 to 107,000, reconfiguring pit road, and adding an additional 200 acres of camping around the complex. This proved to be enough to land an event at the speedway for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race Saturday night has officially sold out and should prove to be one of the most memorable nights in the track’s brief history.

    Kentucky Speedway’s layout mocks the layouts of Kansas Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. With 14 degrees of banking in the corners, 8-10 degrees in the Tri-Oval and 4 degrees on the backstretch, Kentucky will prove to be a bit of a challenge to newcomers.

    Daytona Recap

    Because my Kentucky intro being as long-winded as it is, although tough with the excitement of the last 20 laps at Daytona, I will keep my recap of last week fairly brief.

    My winner pick, Jeff Gordon, played the Hendrick game last Saturday night in an effort to steer clear of trouble. Gordon immediately hooked up with drafting partner, Mark Martin in the first few laps of the race, pushing Martin to the point. The tandem of Gordon and Martin would slip out of the top 20 just before lap number 20, and would ride in the middle of the pack until the 300-mile mark. Following their final green flag stops with 25 laps remaining, the duo would make their charge towards the front, moving to 7th and 8th with just 5 laps remaining. Gordon would make one of the best saves of his career, keeping the Pepsi Max Chevy clear of any barriers but would bring out the caution with just 4 to go. The first attempt at a GWC restart would go foul in Turn 2, putting Gordon in 17th on what would become the final restart. Gordon then hooked up with Toyota driver, Kyle Busch, and the tandem sliced through traffic and Busch pulled Gordon to a 6th place finish, netting me a top 10 for my winner pick.

    A.J. Allmendinger would also net me a top 10 for my Dark Horse pick this past weekend in his No. 43 U.S. Air Force Ford Fusion. Also taking the mid-pack route on Saturday night, Allmendinger hooked up with teammate Marcos Ambrose early, but the tandem would eventually split late in the race after the No. 43 ran out of gas on lap 134. Allmendinger coasted onto pit road and would eventually go one lap down to the leaders. It wasn’t until the caution brought out by my winner pick that Allmendinger would gain the Lucky-Dog and jump back onto the lead lap. Starting at the rear of the field following the final two cautions would prove to be beneficial in the end for the Richard Petty Motorsports Driver. Allmendinger would avoid both cautions in overtime to drive to a 10th place finish, netting me another top ten for my Dark Horse pick.

    Kentucky Picks

    Onto my picks for this week.

    I’m not going to bore you all to death with statistics this week only because THERE AREN’T ANY! I’m also not going to base my predictions on past finishes at Kansas or Chicagoland because the two tracks are rather similar to Kentucky Speedway, but that fact means nothing when it comes to an inaugural race. Each of the 43 drivers starting the race Saturday Night will be foaming at the drop of the green flag in an effort to become the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner at Kentucky Speedway.

    I’m not sure how legal this is in the eyes of the Matty’s Pick’s rules committee, but I’m picking a guy this week that fans may not always have as a contender to win week in and week out. He has won the past three NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Kentucky, and will use his experiences in the Nationwide cars to give him a bit of an edge on Saturday night. Joey Logano scored his first NASCAR win at Kentucky in 2008, but has not seen victory lane in the Sprint Cup series since his win at Loudon in June 2009. This is my basis for qualifying him as a Dark Horse this weekend, and my guess is he will prove me wrong as a Dark Horse by running in the top 10 on Saturday.

    For my winner pick, I am also picking a driver with some experience at Kentucky Speedway. He won a race in the Nationwide Series at Kentucky in June of 2004. Rowdy Busch is my Winner pick for this week and I am basing this prediction off of desire. I think Kyle Busch has a spot on his mantle open for a trophy with the words “Inaugural Race Winner” inscribed on it, and Joe Gibbs Racing will give him the car he needs to go get it. Look for the No. 18 in Gatorade Victory Lane not only Saturday Night, but Friday in the Nationwide Series, and Thursday in the Camping World Truck Series as well.

    This ends a very long-winded Matty’s picks this week, (including the two hidden Bonus Picks!) I am extremely excited to be joining the other 125,000 folks at Kentucky Speedway this weekend to watch history be made. I will make the journey from Buffalo, NY to be on hand for this epic event, and look forward to sharing some good food, good times, and great RACIN’ in the Bluegrass State!!!

    Until next time…..you stay classy NASCAR NATION!!

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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    With firecrackers sparkling, patriotism soaring and flags flying high in celebration of the July 4th holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.


    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”261″][/media-credit]Surprising: Sentimental favorite Trevor Bayne and points leader Carl Edwards both surprisingly had a world of trouble at the world center of racing.

    Bayne, piloting the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford, was making his triumphant return to the superspeedway after winning the Daytona 500 and then having to get out of the car for a bit as a result of a never-diagnosed illness.

    The young driver’s high hopes were dashed early, when he was turned by Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, on Lap 5 of the race. Bayne and team were unable to repair the car and he finished 41st.

    “I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he (Keselowski) kind of came up across our bumper, but, either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent us spinning,” Bayne said. “You know that can happen here.”

    “It happens all the time, but it’s tough that it was our car,” Bayne continued. “I hate tearing up a good race car. If I didn’t have my faith and everything else right now, that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

    Bayne was not the only one that had a tough night. Points leader coming into the race Carl Edwards had his hands full as well behind the wheel of the No. 99 Subway Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

    Edwards was running third, being pushed by teammate Greg Biffle, when he hit the wall on lap 23. Edwards’ car was severely damaged, allowing fumes to get into the car and sickening the driver.

    While Edwards did get his car back on the track, he finished 37th, losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick.

    “We don’t ever give up and that’s the thing,” Edwards said. “I told my guys to keep their heads up. We’ll take this bad day and keep our pride.”

    “We knew coming here we could come out losing a bunch of points and we lost about as many as we could, but that’s OK,” Edwards continued. “We’re still right there. Hopefully we’ll be leading it after next week.”

    Not Surprising:  There was another Cinderella glass slipper waiting and not surprisingly this one was polished with redemption for one driver who was definitely due one at Daytona.

    David Ragan, who had come so close to winning the Daytona 500 but was penalized for changing lanes in the waning laps, was pushed to his first ever Cup victory by teammate Matt Kenseth.

    This was Ragan’s first victory in 163 Cup races but his fifth top-10 finish in 2011. The driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush Fenway Racing scored his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Daytona.

    “It was a tough one in February and coming back here we knew that we’d have a shot to win,” Ragan said. “When we qualified, that’s probably the first time I really felt like we’ve got a car that’s fast enough that we can win this thing, so we made a pact with our teammate Matt Kenseth that we were gonna work together through thick or thin.”

    “I just tried to not make any mistakes, tried to put ourselves in good position and we wound up obviously being in the lead on the last restart and that was the winning moment for us,” Ragan said. “I’m happy about the win.”

    Surprising:  While this year has been one of change on pit road, particularly for the over the wall gang with the new fueling system and the elimination of the catch can man, there was another surprising change on pit road during this race. The gas can man became the grease man as well.

    From rags covered in lard to cans of Pam, greasing the bumpers became a part of the pit crew dance. And another pit road command from atop the boxes became “Right side tires and grease the bumpers.”

    Not Surprising:  With the new style of tandem racing, it was not surprising to see a race record high of 57 lead changes. There was also a track record broken for 25 different leaders, with the previous record being 22 set in this year’s Daytona 500.

    It was also not surprising that after all of the racing, the finale came down to the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.

    Clint Bowyer, who had been at the front of the pack in his No. 33 Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet, ended up finishing 36th, thanks to that final green, white, checker attempt.

    “We got some damage in the beginning of the race and laid back in the field with our RCR teammate Jeff Burton until about 30 to go,” Bowyer said. “That last caution came out at the wrong time as we were making a run at the leaders.”

    “Nothing we could have done there at the end,” Bowyer concluded. “That’s just restrictor plate racing for you I guess.”

    Surprising: The surprising tandem dubbed ‘Harvard’, comprised of Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet, and Paul Menard, behind the wheel of the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, finished strong.

    In fact, Harvick’s finish was strong enough to catapult him over Edwards to lead the point standings by five.

    “We had a plan to stick with the No. 27 (Menard) all night and I think we ran every lap with him,” Harvick said. “The first green-white-checkered, we had a great run and the timing was perfect.”

    “The second one, we just didn’t have quite the timing and got a couple of guys underneath us and then we just got a little bit too far behind,” Harvick continued. “But still, everything worked pretty good.”

    Not Surprising: In contrast to the relief of the ‘Harvard’ tandem, it was not surprising to see equal if not more amounts of frustration boil over for many of the traditionally good plate race drivers who did not have the finish they, or their fans, envisioned.

    In addition to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 20th in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salute, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also struggled late in the race, finishing 19th in his camouflaged No. 88 National Guard Heritage/Amp Energy Chevrolet.

    “Oh man, I don’t know,” Junior said after the race. “I’m really ticked off. Damnit. I was just trying to get to the finish line.”

    “What kind of move can you make in racing like this?” Junior continued. “There ain’t no move you can make.”

    “You just hold it on the mat and try not to wreck into each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You see how good we are at that.”

    Surprising: In addition to his appearance in the movie ‘Cars 2’, it was a bit surprising to see Jeff Gordon, this week piloting the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, starring as the race’s Lucky Dog. Gordon used his veteran skills for an incredible save after a wild spin on lap 157 to finish sixth.

    “Somebody got in the back of the No. 4 (Kasey Kahne) and pushed him up into me and I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “Then the car came around and luckily I straightened it out somehow and came back and fixed it.”

    “Miraculously there on those last two restarts we avoided more wrecks,” Gordon continued. “It was awesome and how we finished sixth is unbelievable.”

    Not Surprising:  One other driver benefitted greatly from the Lucky Dog phenomenon. AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Air Force Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports, got the distinction after the first green, white, checkered attempt and went on to power his way to a top-10 finish.

    “I felt kind of bad because Marcos (Ambrose) and I were racing for the lucky dog, but I was happy the yellow came out twice so we both got our laps back,” Allmendinger said. “After that, it was just trying to miss the wreck.”

    “We didn’t quite miss it but I stayed wide open and kind of bulled my way through there and finished 10th.”