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Tag: Alex Bowman

Tommy Baldwin Racing Announces Multi-Year Sponsorship with Nikko RC/Toy State

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (December 15, 2015) – Tommy Baldwin Racing has announced that Nikko RC/Toy State will become the majority sponsor of driver Alex Bowman and his No. 7 Chevrolet team for the 2016 season. Announced Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, team owner Tommy Baldwin was joined on stage by Toy State President Andy Friess and driver Alex Bowman.

NASCAR fans were first introduced to Toy State’s extensive portfolio as the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet featured their flagship Road Rippers® and Nikko™ brands during the 2015 season. The company boasts brands that include Hot Wheels™, WWE® and James Bond 007™ “lights & sound” and radio controlled vehicles, as well as Cat® and Cat® Preschool construction toys.

The partnership between Nikko RC/ Toy State and Tommy Baldwin Racing will feature their brand as a primary sponsor of the No. 7 team in 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup races during the 2016 season and as an associate-level partner in 14 other races.

“Nikko RC/Toy State’s level of commitment to our team during the 2015 season allowed us to strengthen our program. The multi-year partnership has enabled us to set realistic goals and expectations for towards our continued growth,” said team owner Tommy Baldwin.

“2015 was a great experience for Toy State as a first-time team sponsor with Tommy Baldwin Racing,” said Andy Friess, President of Toy State. “We are thrilled to announce this multi-year sponsorship with the team. The growth potential of TBR and Toy State is limitless and we’re excited about the many business opportunities throughout NASCAR as a whole.”

About Tommy Baldwin Racing
Founded in 2009, Tommy Baldwin Racing is a NASCAR organization that fields the No. 7 Chevrolet driven by Alex Bowman in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Baldwin, a native of Long Island, New York, is a Daytona 500-winning crew chief in his seventh season as a full-time Cup Series car owner.

December 15, 2015
The Final Word – After New Hampshire, the Busch Chronicles Continue

Welcome to the Busch Chronicles. Brother Kurt missed the opening three races of the season, won a couple and quickly qualified for a Chase place by being well within the Top 30 in points on the season. Brother Kyle missed the opening 11 events of the season after suffering a broken leg in the XFINITY race at Daytona. He seems to be doing well after his first eight back. Three wins in his last four, including his run last Sunday at New Hampshire, has him close. I thought he might pick up twenty points on the 30th place Cole Whitt, but I was wrong.

On lap 245, Busch sensed a tire going down and came to the pits under green. He slipped a lap down but had car enough to try to get it back on his own. On lap 252 he made a wild pass with no room to spare to slip by both Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick just before the caution came out due to fluid on the track. Not only was he back on the lead lap, all the other drivers pitted when he did not need to, making Busch the leader. He remained on point through to the 301st and final circuit to claim the victory, and accumulated 47 points.

That was better than Cole Whitt, who had been 30th in the standings coming in. He was 28th on the day, allowing David Gilliland to move past him on the charts as he claimed 21st. Even with the swap of targets, Busch reduced his deficit from 87 to 58 points, a gain of 29 on the position he is aiming for.

It is more than realistic to see Kyle moving into at least 30th in points, thus making his wins count toward the standings, to move him from 33rd today to at least second by the time they leave Watkins Glen. If he continues making 29-point gains, he could be there before they arrive at the road course. It is not always all about Kyle, but right now it sure is.

Goodyear supplies the rubber, but one would have sworn Alex Bowman had one of Barney Rubble’s firestones onboard. He provided a whole new definition to burning rubber as he went up in flames on his way out of the pits, as it appears the residual old hot rubber set the new rubber ablaze. The 22-year-old finished the race though about 70 laps down. Sure, Kyle is hot right now, but for a few moments it could be argued that Alex was even hotter.

Clint Bowyer is not though he could be upset by tumbling out of the Sweet Sixteen. Finishing 34th did him no favors, 19 spots behind Aric Almirola. Almirola is now in 16th, two points up while Ryan Newman launched from seven to now 30 points ahead of Clint as he moves to 14th on the charts.

So, we await a first-time winner to secure a spot, especially someone from outside the top 16. Carl Edwards is thirteen points behind Bowyer, but his win at Charlotte was huge. This weekend the storyline could be about one of the rich getting richer, or maybe someone jumping the line to steal a place with a surprise victory, the latest tango involving Bowyer and Almirola, and the continuing adventures of Kurt’s little brother.

Next up is the Brickyard this Sunday. Jeff Gordon won his fifth at Indianapolis last year while Jimmie Johnson could add to his four win total of this year by taking his fifth ever at the Brickyard. Kyle has never won at this venue, but this is another week and that is just another challenge to be overcome.

July 20, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Axalta We Paint Winners 400

In a peculiar race at Pocono, filled with shifting and unexpected bumps, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 34th annual Axalta We Paint Winners 400.

Surprising: Under picture-perfect skies, both blessings and curses abounded at the Tricky Triangle in the track’s first race of the season.

“I just feel super blessed to be with this group of guys,” race winner Martin Truex Jr. said of his No. 78 Furniture Row race team. “They are super impressive and just proud to drive cars for them.”

“We finally got it. That is all I can say we finally got it. Just can’t thank all my guys enough, Barney Visser, everybody at Furniture Row, everybody back in Denver for working so hard. This is a brand new racecar and they have been working really hard lately. Just proud of them and blessed to drive great racecars.”

“It never gets any better than this.”

This was Truex Jr.’s first victory of the season and one that ended a 69-race winless streak as well as qualifying him for the Chase.

As much as Truex felt blessed to win, Jeff Gordon and Alan Gustafson on the flip side exchanged a tirade of uncharacteristic curses after disagreeing on pit strategy. The curse-laden audio can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPeUz35cQRA&app=desktop.

In spite of all that cursing, the Team 24 driver and crew chief duo managed to pull off a top-15 finish for the No. 24 Axalta/Penn State Chevrolet.

Not Surprising: Although many in the garage felt that he was the one to beat, Kevin Harvick finished second yet again, having had to deal with gear issues on the restarts and splitter issues as well.

“Our Budweiser Chevy was really fast, but we were just terrible on the restarts getting going,” Harvick said. “We would lug really bad in third gear and just had to go into defense mode.”

“We struggled in Turn 1 with the splitter on the ground. Things aren’t lining-up to win races right now.”

Surprising: Aric Almirola went from having one of the best finishes of the season in Dover to having one of his worst days at Pocono, finishing 43rd in his No. 43 Nathan’s Famous Ford with something malfunctioning in the motor of his race car.

“It wouldn’t run anymore,” Almirola said. “It’s a shame. It was not a good weekend for us. We struggled all weekend finding speed in our car and right there we came in and made a pretty aggressive adjustment on that pit stop. Trent (Owens, crew chief) changed a lot of stuff and just on that one lap of the restart it drove a lot better and I had my hopes up for a minute and then my hopes got crushed.”

“We had some sort of motor issue. Every once in a while something like that happens.”

This was Almirola’s first DNF of the season as well.

Not Surprising: Tony Stewart shared the best quote of the day. After received a penalty on pit road for an uncontrolled tire, Smoke came on the radio and said “They should start calling penalties on me for being an uncontrolled driver.”

“I put us in a hole to start the weekend,” Stewart said, referring to his crash on Friday in practice that forced him to a backup racecar. “This whole Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops team dug in, worked hard all weekend and never gave up.”

“I’m really proud of everybody and hate the finish doesn’t reflect that effort.”

Stewart finished 21^st at Pocono Raceway in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.

Surprising: While Carl Edwards looked to be the strongest Toyota, starting on the outside pole, three other Toyotas managed to finish better than he did with his 15^th place run. Matt Kenseth was the highest finisher of the manufacturer’s brand in the sixth place, with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

“We had a really fast car – it was the fastest sixth-place car that I’ve ever had,” Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, said. “We ran much better than we finished.”

“This is a bad track for me and we had a great car today.”

“We didn’t start the race with what we needed with our M&M’s Crispy Camry,” Kyle Busch said. “But Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made some good adjustments to get us better. Track position was big, so Adam also made a good call to take two tires and get us some track position and we were able to hold onto it for a while.”

“Those last two cautions didn’t help us, we just couldn’t get going on those last couple of restarts. We’ll take it and move on to Michigan.”

“I thought we were a decent car – fifth to 10th place most of the day, but with our track position, we always took four tires,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota , said. “Some of those guys made it on fuel because of all the cautions so we continued to lose track position throughout the day, but we kind of battled back.”

“We barely got inside the top-10 and at best I thought we could have improved four or five more spots, but overall a solid day. We didn’t tear up anything this week and now we can go and improve our program for next week.”

Not Surprising: While Ford has traditionally struggled at Pocono, Joey Logano still managed to be the best finishing Ford, bringing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford to the checkered flag in the fourth position. His finish was especially noteworthy as he had to start from the back of the pack due to a rear gear change.

“I’m happy with the way it ended,” Logano said. “We didn’t have a very fast Shell/Pennzoil Ford from the get-go when we unloaded here, but we kept fighting hard.”

“This was one of those blue-collar days, just working hard all day on the car and on pit road the guys did a good job making my car faster and got to where we were a top-five car at the end.”

Surprising: Ryan Newman’s temper got the best of him after contact between himself and AJ Allmendinger on Lap 142. And he even vowed some revenge as a result of that contact.

“It’s pretty obvious what happened,” Newman, driver of the No. 31 Grainger Chevrolet, said after finishing 39th. “The No. 47 (AJ Allmendinger) just ran out of talent.”

“He has got one coming now.”

Not Surprising: While Trevor Bayne got some Pocono practice time in running and winning the ARCA Series race, the driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford acknowledged that he was still in the learning mode for the Tricky Triangle.

“We got through it and that was the main part for our first run here at Pocono,” Bayne said. “Overall, we kept a clean car and for the first time here I learned a ton.”

“From where I started this week and getting to where we finished I think we made big gains. We got back on the lead lap there at the end and we just needed to be a little bit better off turn three and we would have had something for a top-15 run.”

Bayne finished the race in the 24^th position.

Surprising: Forget girls just wanting to have fun, sometimes six time champions like Jimmie Johnson just want to do that as well even with a beat up race car, with some missing parts to boot. And while he had fun, Johnson also went on to finish third in his No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet.

“A fun day,” Johnson said. “She is beat up and missing a left-front splitter too from the contact we had with the outside wall off of Turn 3 there.”

“We overcame a lot and still got a third place finish out of it. Wish we had a little bit more, but not a bad finish.”

Not Surprising: Both Chip Ganassi Racing drivers managed top-10 finishes at the Tricky Triangle, with Jamie McMurray coming in seventh and Kyle Larson finishing eighth.

“It was a good race and a nice top 10,” Larson, the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, said after the race. “I thought that was probably about the speed we had maybe eighth to 11th or so. So to get an eighth place is alright.”

Surprising: Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 7 Accell Construction Chevrolet, managed a 26th place finish only to go home and have an accident there.

“No joke got home and roscoe ran to the door and head butted me so hard because he couldn’t stop that I now have an actual black eye,” @AlexBRacing tweeted after the race.

Not Surprising: At the end of the day and in spite of the competition, friendships develop in the garage area. And the best example of that was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who could not wait to get into Victory Lane to shake the hand of his friend and race winner Martin Truex Jr.

“I’m just happy for him,” the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet said after finishing 11th. “I know he’s been through a lot of stuff both inside the car and outside the car the last several years. He’s been able to get into a good opportunity with good people.”

“He’s got a team that believes in him. And I was in the stall next to those guys during qualifying and how they are as a team and how they interact with each other really impressed me.”

“So, Martin’s in a good situation. So, it’s real refreshing. I look forward to going over there (Victory Lane) and saying hey to him.”

The Cup Series will race next weekend in the Irish Hills of Michigan for the Quicken Loans 400.

June 7, 2015
Alex Bowman: A Season of Firsts and Lasts

For Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 23 DipYourCar.com Toyota for BK Racing, this season has been one of firsts and lasts.

One of those firsts, in the last race of the season, is that he is competing at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the very first time in his career.

“Definitely the first time I’ve been here,” Bowman said. “The track is really slick, so you slide around a lot. You are definitely chasing the race car at all times and not settled into the track. You’re always working at it.”

“It’s really fun,” Bowman continued. “In race trim, you’re always running right there up against the wall. I like it. It’s been fun for me so far.”

“I’ve just kind of went out, got accustomed to it and adapted myself to the race track before we threw a lot of stuff at the race car,” Bowman said. “We’re not very fast but I think we’ll be alright tomorrow in the race.”

“I feel like at this level, you kind of have to be ready for those first times at new tracks. It’s not the first place that I’ve never been to so I’m definitely used to that. I just have to get up to speed pretty quick and go for it.”

While this is his first time at Homestead, it is the last race of the season and for four other drivers on the track, there is an opportunity for a championship. Bowman acknowledged that this last race where a champ will be crowned will be a first for him as far as how he races as well.

“You just have to stay out of their way,” Bowman said. “They’ll be much faster than us. So, you just have to make sure that you don’t ruin their day because then you’re all over TV and everybody laughs at you and calls you an idiot. I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ that ruins somebody’s championship. Hopefully, we can stay out of the way, not make any of them mad, run our own race and when they’re around, be a little careful.”

Bowman is also experiencing another first, that of having a new crew chief Patrick Donahue named this week for the very last race of the season.

“Well he’s been with us all year, just as a car chief,” Bowman said. “So, nothing’s really new; kind of just the same deal. BK Racing felt like they needed to make a change so I guess Monday I got a text saying Patrick was going to be the new crew chief and we went from there.”

“We’re working on it,” Bowman continued. “We’re not any better than we usually are but we’re not any worse either. All three of our cars are struggling this weekend. Three different set-ups, three different race cars, three different drivers, all not very fast. So, we definitely as a company have our work cut out for us. Hopefully we’ll figure something out before tomorrow.”

Bowman’s other major first is that the finale of his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is coming to a close. And in the midst of his rookie Cup season, Bowman has also experienced another first, driving for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

“Getting to drive the 5 for JR Motorsports a couple of times was a lot of fun,” Bowman said. “Last week we were really strong running third but ran out of fuel. Doing this deal helped me get that from Junior and helped show what I can do in lesser equipment to get a shot in good equipment. Hopefully there are more things to come from that and we’ll go from there.”

Bowman has also accomplished a feat for which he is quite proud. He and his No. 23 race team have made all the races for the year, the first time that the team has been able to consistently achieve that.

“Not missing any races was pretty cool,” Bowman said. “Our race team definitely struggled with that and the 23 car didn’t fight that at all.”

The young rookie Cup driver has also had a series of challenges for the first time in his career that he has had to battle, many of which have caused him to even doubt his own abilities somewhat.

“I think my biggest challenge is that when we’re off, we’re really off,” Bowman said. “When we’re bad, we’re really bad. We just need to work on being able to get the race car to not be so bad when we are having an off day.”

“By my standards, every single race has been an off-day,” Bowman continued. “Managing my expectations and learning how to do that has been hard because I’m not used to doing what we’re doing. It’s been a learning experience for me as far as how to approach the weekend. You get down on yourself and it’s really easy to start thinking that it’s the driver and not the race car. You think you’re not doing a good job and then things like last weekend help me reaffirm that I can run with those types of cars. So, it’s been a huge learning experience just to manage my expectations every week.”

Bowman has also learned for one of the first times in his career that he needs to be able to reach out and lean on others as he goes through the ups, downs, and vagaries of the sport.

“Lately, I’ve been talking to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) a lot,” Bowman said. “Driving the 5 car, we’ve developed a pretty good relationship. Talking to him and just learning different race tracks and different lines has helped me.”

“But as far as getting through the weekend, there are a lot of good people on the race team and are fun to hang out with. They make a situation that is hard to deal with enjoyable.”

While Bowman is looking forward to the off-season, with a particular eye to getting some rest, he also may be marking the last time he will race for BK Racing. In fact, the rookie is uncertain what his future holds at present.

“I got a really comfortable couch that I’m going to spend a lot of time on,” Bowman said. “I’m going to work on my street cars a little big. I’m turning a 911 into somewhat of a drift car next week. I’m going to work on that a little bit.”

“As far as next year goes, I’d like to be back but I don’t have anything done as of now,” Bowman continued. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t really make up my mind what I want to do so I have to figure it out for myself and go from there.”

For tomorrow, however, Alex Bowman will complete the last race of the season with his first-ever Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The rookie will roll off for the first and last time in the 41st position for the Ford EcoBoost 400.

November 15, 2014
Statistical Breakdown: 2014 Brickyard 400

As an avid NASCAR fan, I love NASCAR statistics. I mean really love them. Beyond the typical top fives, top 10s, poles and other statistics you can easily find on most NASCAR-related websites, there is a smorgasbord of statistics available that you probably never knew existed. This information is compiled from loop data that NASCAR has accumulated since 2005 when they began using computerized scoring loops to improve the accuracy of scoring during races.

The driver rating is probably the best indicator of a driver’s overall performance. A perfect score is 150.0. It’s based on a formula that takes into account a variety of statistics such as finishing order, average running position, average speed and fastest lap. Bonus points are also a consideration. This is one of the tools that team owners and drivers can use to evaluate and improve their success on the track.

I’ve listed below the latest numbers generated from the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Average Running Position

Highest Average Running Position: Kasey Kahne – 4th

Lowest Average Running Position: Alex Bowman – 41^st

Passing Breakdown

Highest Percent of Quality Passes: (A quality pass is made when a driver passes a car running in the top 15 under green flag conditions). Brian Vickers: 50 percent

Highest Number of Quality Passes: Austin Dillon and Brian Vickers with 39 each.

Highest Number of Passes made under green flag conditions: Marcos Ambrose: 108

Lowest Number of Passes made under green flag conditions: Alex Bowman: 18

Highest Number of Times Passed under green flag conditions: Ryan Newman: 115

Lowest Number of Times Passed under green flag conditions: Alex Bowman: 13

Highest Differential between green flag passes and green flag times passed: Aric Almirola: 35

Lowest Differential between green flag passes and green flag times passed: Clint Bowyer: 25

Laps Breakdown

Highest Number of Fastest Laps: Jeff Gordon: 52

Highest Number of Laps in the Top 15: Kevin Harvick: 153

Driver Rating (A perfect driver rating is 150.0.)

Highest Driver Rating: Jeff Gordon: 138.4

Lowest Driver Rating; Alex Bowman: 24.8

August 1, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

While the luck of the Irish hills was bestowed on the driver who made his way to Victory Lane for the first time ever in Michigan, here is what was surprising and not so surprising in the 46^th annual Quicken Loans 400.

Surprising: While Kevin Harvick was certainly fast, coming in second in the race after a blistering pole run, he was even more than freakishly fast in the media center after the event.

Harvick, who was clearly unhappy with his race finish, had just one comment and was asked just one question during his media availability, which went like this:

“I mean, the car was fast, just wound up on the wrong side of all the strategy,” Harvick said. “We finished second, and that’s it.”

QUESTION. “Kevin, six of the top eight were Hendrick engines. This is a pretty big track in terms of horsepower. How well positioned are the Hendricks right now?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious. Self-explanatory. Good question,” Harvick answered and then exited the media center.

Not Surprising: Race winner Jimmie Johnson scored a first, second, third, fifth and eighth all at once with his trip to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway.

The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet checked MIS off his win list for the first time, moved up to second in the point standings thanks to his victory, scored his third win of the season solidifying his run for his seventh championship, and handed the fifth win in a row to boss Mr. Hendrick.

Johnson is also now eighth on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins list.

“Well, this is a great win for a lot of reasons,” Rick Hendrick, team owner, said. “One for here in Michigan for Chevrolet, and being a Chevrolet dealer and racing Chevrolets, this means a lot to win this race. It’s good to see Jimmie win after leading so many laps here and close the deal because we’ve run out of gas, broke motors, blown tires. I think I remember a couple times coming off of 4 and losing it. For him to be able to finish it off today, it was really good.”

“And again, to keep the streak going, get five, that’s great,” Hendrick continued. “This was a good race, and it just played out the way we needed it to play out. Everybody is really putting out a lot of effort right now, and it’s paying off.”

Surprising: Although Kyle Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, spun early in the race, damaging the back end of his car, he was the envy of the field as that very damage gave him a bit of down force advantage that propelled him into an eighth place finish.

“You know, the rear bumper, yeah, I’ve never had that happen before, and it happened so early in the race that I don’t know how it would have handled had I had a rear bumper,” Larson said. “Either way I think we would have had a really good car because we were good in practice, but it probably did help a little bit.”

Larson was the highest finishing Rookie of the Year candidate yet again.

Not Surprising: Paul Menard proved that Michigan was a track on which he could run well, winning the Nationwide race on Saturday and finishing fourth in the Cup race on Sunday.

“Yeah, we had a really solid Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevy all weekend, from the time we unloaded,” Menard said. “I actually got to go to Victory Lane yesterday with my daughter and my dad was here today, so it was a good Father’s Day weekend for sure.”

“The car, like I said, was fast all weekend. We needed some clean air at the end and the guys got me out front with some pit strategy and good pit stops and we came home with a top 5,” Menard continued. “So it was pretty good.”

Surprising: There was more spinning in the Quicken Loans 400 than at the Olympic men’s figure skating championship. Spinners in the event included Brian Vickers, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, David Ragan, Alex Bowman, Brett Moffit, Aric Almirola, and Denny Hamlin just to name a few.

“It’s frustrating. I wish I knew — the car just came around going into (turn) three,” Brian Vickers said after spinning early in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota. “I was trying to back the corner up and was taking it easy and just got loose and it just came around from me.”

“I saved it all the way up to the wall and I thought I had it saved and ultimately it just came around and I lost it,” Vickers continued. “I didn’t have that experience all weekend. The car was just really loose getting into (turn) three and that was it.”

Not Surprising: Well, it was Michigan after all, so not surprisingly at least one driver deemed his day a ‘blue collar’ kind of day.

“Yeah, we just didn’t have the speed really all weekend to be a front runner in the sense of contending to win based on speed,” Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford for Team Penske, said after finishing third. “But the guys did a great job with execution. I thought we executed really well.”

“We had a lot of good restarts, pretty decent on pit road today,” Keselowski continued. “Solid strategy, just — I told somebody before, Joey Logano told us, we were talking before the race started, we needed a good blue collar day today, and that’s of what today was for us.”

“We kind of trudged through it and came away with another top three effort, which is good but not great.”

Surprising: Unlike most of his races recently, Kasey Kahne was actually able to battle back from adversity to finish top-five in his No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet.

‘Yeah, it was tough,” Kahne said. “I was struggling for a while and then we got it and then we were on a good strategy there at the end. We were pretty competitive with the guys in front of us.”

“Yes, we really needed that, especially where we started getting in Larson’s wreck there at the start of the race,” Kahne continued. “We kind of got going from there. We made a lot of adjustments. It took about an hour and a half to get our car right with different adjustments and things.”

“It was a battle, it wasn’t easy today.”

Not Surprising: Two former Indy Car racers were just feeling ‘lucky’ in this week’s NASCAR race. Juan Pablo Montoya, making his NASCAR return, and Danica Patrick both partook in the ‘lucky dog’ experience, leading to a 17^th place finish for Patrick and an 18^th place finish for JPM.

“We started the race really, really loose and we were not really expecting that based on practice,” Montoya, behind the wheel of the No. 12 SKF Ford for Team Penske, said. “It’s hard because we went from practice to the race without really changing that much and it was awful. We were kind of catching up and we did a good job.”

“I got the lucky dog and we were getting better and then I think we went a little too far with the car at the end, but we’re learning and understanding a little more.”

“We were pretty good,” Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, said. “The guys did a good job on the adjustments, and it was fun to drive. The race seemed to go by quick.”

“We needed a little bit of track position, but it was a good day for us,” Patrick continued. “Thanks to GoDaddy and everyone on my team, we continue to get better.”

Surprising: At a track that they have owned in the past, Roush Fenway Racing had an incredibly bad day. RFR drivers Greg Biffle finished 20^th, Carl Edwards 23^rd and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 27^th.

“That was a big struggle,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, said. “It was pretty tough but we worked hard and didn’t quit.”

“Fortunately we have a win to get us into the Chase, but we’ve just got to get better as a group,” Edwards continued. “That’s the way it is.”

Not Surprising: After another run of bad luck, suffering damage from a Lap 8 accident that led to a 37^th place finish, there is no other driver that is looking forward to Sonoma more than Martin Truex Jr.

“When luck is not on your side, there’s not much you can do,” Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet, said. “I don’t know what to say right now.”

“We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s disheartening because we felt that we had a potential top-10 car but didn’t get a chance to show it. When you have an accident that early it sure makes for a long day.”

“I mean a very long day.”

Truex is, however, the defending champ of the California road course where the Sprint Cup Series will battle next. The Toyota – Save Mart 350 race will be run on Sunday, June 22^nd at 3:00 PM ET.

June 15, 2014
The Final Word – Dover is over and now to Pocono where Jimmie has not won for an entire year!

Even a ball player could appreciate Jimmie Johnson’s average at Dover, having gone 9 for 25 for a sweet .360 average. Sunday, Johnson led much of the way to lock down his second of the season. Brad Keselowski, who has a win, finished second while Matt Kenseth, who does not, was third. That fact should not be cause to worry at the moment, as Kenseth still has more points than anyone, even without a victory to his credit. If this keeps up, he might not need one.

Tony Stewart needs a win to make the Chase, but a seventh place result was as good as it got. Kevin Harvick has two wins, but a flat as they came to green after a caution removed him from the lead and contention. Kurt Busch, who has a win and precious little else, was one back of Harvick, in 18th. As for Danica Patrick, if 25th is a decent day, she was better than decent by two positions.

Some teams you expect to be better, some not. Not much is expected from the BK Racing trio of Cole Whitt (27th), Ryan Truex (32nd), and Alex Bowman (40th) and we were not surprised. We thought Roush would be running better, but Carl Edwards (14th) was as good as it got for those boys as circumstances left Greg Biffle (38th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr (41st) all torn up. Hendrick may have won, but Penske had the better average with Keselowski and Joey Logano both in the Top Ten.

When is all clear not all clear? Ask Clint Bowyer or, better yet, ask Kyle Busch. Seeking the weekend Dover three-peat, Busch was charging to the outside of Bowyer, but that is not what his spotter told him. It was clear to us that Rowdy was looking to the outside, only to wind up squeezed into the fence and out of the race. He had definite evil intentions aimed at his rival, but the guy he really should have wanted was high up in the grandstands. Oops.

When is debris not really debris? It is not if you run over a chunk of concrete and reduce it in size by blasting it to chunks and dust. Ask Jamie McMurray, who was the beneficiary of the gift of masonry Ryan Newman kicked up just in front of him from the newly formed pothole. McMurray clobbered it but good to split his splitter and send him fence-ward. Interestingly enough, he was 16th at the time, yet finished 13th.

While I shall miss FOX, I believe TNT’s coverage of NASCAR is the superior. Should we discover Pocono to be boring, yet we continue to watch primarily due to the entertainment provided by the announcers, then we have found folks who know how to do their job.

Why don’t the New York Yankees play three of four games a month against minor league teams on national television? The reason is that would be stupid, but enough about Kyle Busch.

As long as there are less than 16 race winners, wins lock you into the Chase while being the best in points will still get you there. Welcome to a world where Kurt Busch can lead Matt Kenseth in the standings, where a single victory trumps having more points than anybody else. That means that by this time next week, anyone from the top 36 could find themselves in the Chase by simply winning this Sunday at Pocono. Nothing to it.

SWEET SIXTEEN
1 Jimmie Johnson – 2 WINS – 436 Points
2 Joey Logano – 2 WINS – 414
3 Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS – 373
4 Jeff Gordon -1 WIN – 461
5 Carl Edwards -1 WIN – 438
6 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 1 WIN – 429
7 Kyle Busch – 1 WIN – 411
8 Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN – 404
9 Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN – 379
10 Kurt Busch – 1 WIN – 241
11 Matt Kenseth – 463 POINTS
12 Kyle Larson – 377
13 Ryan Newman – 374
14 Brian Vickers – 366
15 Paul Menard – 362
16 Austin Dillon – 358

CONTENDERS AND PRETENDERS
17 Greg Biffle – 357
18 Clint Bowyer – 350
19 Kasey Kahne – 349
20 Aric Almirola – 344
21 A.J. Allmendinger – 337
22 Tony Stewart – 336
23 Marcos Ambrose – 331
24 Jamie McMurray – 317
25 Casey Mears – 301
26 Martin Truex, Jr. – 289
27 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 261
28 Danica Patrick – 239
29 Justin Allgaier – 223
30 Michael Annett – 188

PARTICIPANTS
31 Cole Whitt – 181
32 David Gilliland – 175
33 Reed Sorenson – 165
34 David Ragan – 158
35 Alex Bowman – 156
36 Josh Wise – 149

June 2, 2014
Alex Bowman: ‘Just a Normal 21 Year Old Turning Laps for a Living’

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota for BK Racing, may be competing for Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but he describes himself as “just a normal 21 year old who gets to turn laps for a living.”

Bowman, who hails from Tucson, Arizona, started his lap turning career on short tracks in his home state, graduating at the age of seven to driving quarter midgets. The young racer than progressed to USAC and at age 17, moved to stock car racing, first in the Pro Cup Series in 2010 and then in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2011, where he won the Rookie of the Year honors.

Bowman moved to the ARCA Racing Series for two years and then made his Nationwide Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway where he finished 17^th. He ran full-time in Nationwide in 2013 and got the call to move up to NASCAR’s elite series for the 2014 season.

“As far as getting this deal, I got a phone call from Rick Carpenter that he wanted to talk and sat down with him and Mike and Ron Devine and I worked on it for a couple months,” Bowman said. “And we were able to put it together and go from there.”

While Bowman is enjoying competing at the highest level of the sport, he is also enjoying being a part of one of the biggest rookie crops to grace the Cup Series.

“It’s great as far as being in one of the largest classes of rookies,” Bowman said “You’ve seen some rookie classes ride around all year in the past but there is none of that this year.”

“You’ve seen the class this year put on a heck of a show so far,” Bowman continued. “So I feel good about being a part of such a big class.”

Bowman’s crew chief Dave Winston is also a rookie, and yes the pair have indeed made their share of rookie mistakes, from issues over the radio to issues on pit road.

“My crew chief Dave, it’s his first year being a crew chief,” Bowman said. “So, we’ve both made our share of mistakes and we are both learning.”

“It’s really funny when he tries to talk on the radio and he has never really talked on the radio before,” Bowman continued. “So, it’s these little short bursts of words that scramble together.”

“I think we’re working together really well,” Bowman said. “He’s definitely a good crew chief and he has a really positive attitude, which goes throughout the whole team. It’s a big difference versus what I had last year. I’m really happy with how the guys gets along and how everybody works together.”

“My biggest rookie mistake is that I’ve spun on pit road a couple of times,” Bowman admitted. “On pit road at Daytona and Kansas as well I spun. So, I need to work on that a little bit. So, that’s our biggest thing.”

While Bowman has yet to spin at Dover, he admitted that he has yet to really master the Monster Mile.

“It’s gone alright so far here at Dover,” Bowman said. “We unloaded okay but as practice went on, we made some changes and got going in the right direction. We weren’t too bad in the first practice but we will see how practices go and how we will be during the race.”

Bowman has the utmost respect for Dover as he turns laps around the Monster Mile. But he cannot quite say that it is one of his favorite tracks just yet.

“It’s one of the toughest places we go,” Bowman said. “It’s real physical. It’s a lot of fun but at the same time when you have a bad race car it’s a really long day.”

“I like it more than a lot of places but at the same time, if you have a bad race car you’re probably going to hate it.”

“If we get out of here with a top-30, that would be good,” Bowman said. “I’d be pretty happy with that.”

While Bowman dreams, as do most rookie drivers, of winning races and competing for future championships, he has one unique hobby that sets him apart from his fellow Cup competitors.

“I guess I’m not really a typical race car driver in that I don’t hang out with anybody in the sport or anything like that,” Bowman said. “Most of my friends have no clue about racing. I hang out with a lot of car people but not a lot of race car people.”

“All my cars most of the garage would look at and be like, that’s stupid,” Bowman continued. “I’m into like the low cars. Everything I own is really low or really fast.”

“It’s fun and is something that I’ve always been interested in,” Bowman said. That’s what all my friends do too.”

“Other than that though I’m pretty much a normal 21 year old kid that gets to turn laps for a living.”

Bowman will race with his other BK Racing teammates Ryan Truex and Cole Whitt. He will start in the 23^rd position for the 45^th annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks on Sunday, June 1^st.

May 31, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Bristol Food City 500

Just as in the Daytona 500, starting in day and ending at night due to extensive rain delays, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 54^th annual Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Creating his own ‘March Madness’, the leader of the Stewart-Haas Racing team rebounded from having to use a provisional to get into the race to finishing in the top five.

“To start 37th and end up fourth today, I’m pretty excited about that,” Tony Stewart said. “I’m really excited for Chad Johnston (crew chief) and everybody on this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team.”

“We had a long way to go from Friday when we weren’t very good, and every day we just got better and better. So, I’m really proud of this team.”

Not Surprising: With a gladiator’s sword as the prize for the victor, it was appropriate that the race ended as a survival of the fittest contest. And the survivor of this race was indeed fit, as demonstrated by his back flip on a wet start finish line in the track known as ‘the Last Great Coliseum.’

Carl Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Kellogg’s / Frosted Flakes Ford, scored his first win of the 2014 season, making him the fourth different driver to win in the season and qualifying him for the Chase. This was Edwards’s third victory and eighth top-10 finish at Bristol.

“I just can’t believe it,” Edwards said. “We were terrible on Saturday, so I’m just glad we turned it around.”

“We had no clue we were going to win this race.”

Surprising: While typically the action ensues when the green flag flies, in this race most of the intense crashing took place when the caution flag came out. There were two instances where the yellow flew yet two drivers were struck from the rear at fairly high rates of speed.

The first incident occurred when Timmy Hill drilled Matt Kenseth from behind and the second occurred when Brad Keselowski was unable to slow down and hit Jamie McMurray in the rear.

One of the more bizarre incidents occurred on pit road under caution when Danica Patrick attempted to pull out of her pit stall, got sideways and drilled Clint Bowyer’s machine.

“It was an eventful night,” Patrick said. “I lost first and second gear and then finally third gear. That’s why I hit Clint (Bowyer) in the pits.”

“It wouldn’t go so I dipped the clutch and got sideways, and when it was about to spin around, I lifted, it caught and then it went straight and it wouldn’t stop.”

“So, I hit him,” Patrick said. “I apologized to his crew after the race.”

Not Surprising: Kyle and Kurt Busch had an ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ moment on lap 394 when Kyle spun out after losing his car in the marbles and big brother Kurt hit the wall trying to avoid him. As a result of that damage, Kurt Busch had to go back behind the wall to repair the right front suspension.

Kurt Busch finished 35^th and brother Kyle finished 29^th.

“Had a moment of brightness but it went downhill from there,” Kyle Busch tweeted after the race. “Really thankful no one hit me when I was sideways.”

Surprising: While the streak of top five finishes sadly ended for NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., another streak surprisingly was born.

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon scored his fourth consecutive top-10 finish, which the four-time champ has never been done before in his career to start the season.

Not Surprising: Bristol is one of the most physically demanding tracks so it was no wonder that Joey Logano was feeling the need to improve his upper body workout regimen. Logano lost his power steering prior to the rain delay but soldiered on to finish 20^th in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil For.

“I was already huffing and puffing pretty hard trying to get the thing to turn,” Logano said. “It was intermittent for a while once we restarted and then it just went away.”

Surprising: Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus must have remained in previous race Las Vega mode, gambling with taking left sides only early in the race and then cutting a right front tire down as a result.

The tread on the No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet unwound, which forced him to the pits, losing several laps to the leader.

“The tire still had air in it,” Johnson said. “It didn’t wear it out.”

“Something made it come apart.”

Not Surprising: It was only a matter of time for these two drivers to have a bit of a break out in the Sprint Cup Series, both posting their career best finishes.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., behind the wheel of his No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford, finished second, bettering his previous career high finish in third at Talladega in October 2013. And Aric Almirola, in his No. 43 Smithfield Ford Petty blue machine, finished third, bettering his previous career best at Homestead in 2010.

“It helps our confidence for sure,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “We’re just slowly working and getting better and better.”

“It was a good night for us,” Almirola said after the race was finally concluded. “It seemed like our car got better and better.”

“I’m really proud of everybody on our team because they gave me a really good car.”

Surprising: A strange new hashtag on Twitter was surprisingly born after one of the most bizarre equipment malfunctions occurred. As a result, rookie driver Alex Bowman tweeted “#badluckbowman is getting freaking ridiculous. Solid top 20 car and the battery literally fell out. Now I get to ride around all day.”

And with that tweet, the young Rookie of the Year contender picked up ad additional ten thousand followers of his Twitter handle @AlexBRacing.

Not Surprising: Speaking of rookie contenders, young Kyle Larson, piloting the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished top-10 and also was the highest finishing rookie of the race.

“We had a really good run today,” Larson said. “Started off in 20^th and got to the top ten pretty easily there in the beginning.”

“Ran in second and third for a long time,” Larson continued. “Pretty much stayed in the top ten for the whole race and inched our way up to the front.”

The Cup Series heads back across country next week for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

March 17, 2014
Ryan Truex’s New Cup Ride ‘Definitely a Surprise’

While Ryan Truex was thrilled about landing a full-time Cup ride in the No. 83 Toyota with BK Racing, he was also just plain taken by surprise by the opportunity that developed a month before the start of the 2014 season.

“They had kind of been looking at bringing in younger drivers for a little while now,” Truex said. “Ron Devine (team owner) has always talked to me at the race track.”

“They needed a driver for the off season to go test with them and luckily I was available,” Truex continued. “And it just snowballed from there to where we are now.”

“I’m pinching myself a little bit,” Truex sad. “I don’t think it has fully set in yet.”

“It has definitely been a surprise.”

Prior to receiving the offer from BK Racing, Truex has been working with team Petty to trying to find funding to run some Nationwide races on a part-time basis.

“So, this deal just came out of left field,” Truex said. “That’s usually what happens though and was a nice surprise.”

“Everything worked, the stars all aligned and now we’ve got thirty days to get ready and the season starts.”

Truex is stepping into the already formed 93 team, complete with crew chief Dale Ferguson, who we just recently met at the Daytona test.

“So, I’m just basically stepping in,” Truex said. “Those guys all know each other and they know the system and how everything works.”

“They’re just kind of plugging me in.”

“I just met Dale a few weeks ago before the Daytona test,” Truex continued. “We seemed to get along pretty well and everybody on the team gets along really well.”

“We gelled well and going forward I think it will be a good combination,” Truex said. “Dale knows the ins and outs of the team and the cars so it should be a pretty easy transition.”

Truex is not only looking forward to having a full-time Cup ride but also to working with his teammate Alex Bowman, as well as competing in one of the most competitive rookie classes in recent history.

“I think it will be good because Alex and I know each other a little bit and we’ve raced each other in Nationwide,” Truex said. “We’re both young and we’re both rookies.”

“We’re eager to go out and do the things we need to do to be successful,” Truex continued. “We both have the same mindset.”

“So, we should be able to feed off each other and make each other better.”

“I think it’s the biggest rookie class since 2001,” Truex said. “The best thing about it is that everyone in it is a proven winner.”

“And they’ve all climbed their way to the top, shown that they deserve to be there and they have done a great job in every kind of race car,” Truex continued. “I think it will be a battle until the end.”

“There are some really heavy hitters in there, like Austin Dillon,” Truex said. “I think he will definitely be the point that we’ll all base ourselves off of.”

“I think it will be really competitive.”

While Truex is optimistic about the upcoming year, he is also realistic in his expectations going into the 2014 season.

“BK Racing is still a young team in Sprint Cup,” Truex said. “They’ve gone through the growing pains and they know what they have to do to be successful.”

“They are putting the right people and pieces in place to do it,” Truex continued. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t go out, run all the laps, stay on the lead lap and get a top-25 finish.”

“If we do all that and don’t make any mistakes, there is no reason why we can’t do that.”

While Truex is now experiencing the ‘high’ of a full-time Cup ride, he also has known the struggles of coming up through the ranks, from K&N East Champion to being a brand new rookie again.

“The past few years, even just running part-time and struggling to find funding, it’s been pretty frustrating,” Truex said. “But you can’t let any negative thoughts set in.”

“You’ve got to keep fighting for it and stay optimistic,” Truex continued. “I think it will be the same mindset this year.”

“Every team has ups and downs and it’s the good teams and good drivers that can pull through,” Truex said. “You have to realize your mistakes and improve from them.”

“That will be the biggest thing for me this year,” Truex continued. “You’ve got to have the right mindset and execute.”

So, what will the youngest Truex brother think when he gets the chance to be on the sport’s biggest stage in the first race of the season, the Daytona 500?

“That’s a good question,” Truex said. “I haven’t even thought about it.”

“It still hasn’t set in yet that I’m running full-time,” Truex continued. “Places like Daytona and racing in the Daytona 500 with all that history and with people like Earnhardt and Petty, it’s pretty crazy.”

“And it’s pretty crazy just to think that I’ve made it this far,” Truex said. “Driving in the Sprint Cup Series has been a goal since I started racing, and to start this next chapter with BK Racing makes it extra special.”

“I am very excited for this opportunity.”

January 26, 2014