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Surprising and Not Surprising: Vegas Kobalt Tools 400

With rain in the desert setting the field and the Denny Hamlin fine all the talk, here is what else was surprising and not so surprising from the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Surprising: The transformation surprisingly continued for Matt Kenseth, who moved from lame duck last year at Roush Fenway Racing to winner this year in just the third race of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“Thank you Lord for putting me here,” Kenseth said simply as he took the checkered flag.

This was the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota’s 25th career victory and the 101^st victory for his new owner Joe Gibbs. And it was Kenseth’s 41^st birthday to boot.

Not Surprising: It was a strong day for the Hendrick bunch, with one notable exception, Jeff Gordon, who brought up the rear with a disappointing 25^th finish in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.

Kasey Kahne, who had a strong No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet, gave Kenseth a run for his money but could not close the deal, finishing second.

“I had the car to beat today,” Kahne said. “We lost, but it was still a great run for all of our guys.” 

Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished sixth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy Orange Chevrolet, finished 7^th.

“I lost a couple of spots in that last restart, but it was fun to race that fast,” Johnson said. “We were flying.”

“We had a real good race,” Junior said. “I enjoyed the race track and the raceability of the track was a lot of fun. I had a blast really.”

Not surprisingly, Hendrick Motorsports is also strong in the point standings, with Johnson in the lead, Junior in third, Gordon dropping five spots to 13^th and Kahne moving up 17 spots to 14^th after the Vegas race.

Surprising: While every other driver complained of being loose, Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. surprisingly complained about being tight.

“I kept telling them to free it up and we would get tighter and tighter,” the driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford said. “That is why we gave up all our track position.”

“Every pit stop we made we got tighter and tighter,” Stenhouse, Jr. continued. “I couldn’t go on a restart.”

Stenhouse Jr. finished 18^th and is still in the lead in what he refers to as the ‘Ricky of the Year’ standings. He also led his first ever Cup lap after staying out while others headed to pit road.

Not Surprising: Stenhouse Jr.’s other half, Danica Patrick had ‘one of those days’ at the track. Not only did she struggle and finish 33^rd in her GoDaddy.com Chevrolet but her team also had a tire outside the box violation on Lap 123, necessitating a pass through penalty.

“That’s alright, guys,” Patrick said. “If we’re going to have these days, might as well have them all together.”

“It was a real tough day, no doubt.”

Surprising: While both Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cars had to start from the rear of the field due to engine changes, both rebounded surprisingly well.

Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 McDonalds Chevrolet, finished 13^th and EGR teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 42 AXE Apollo Chevrolet finished 19^th.

Not Surprising: While Denny Hamlin paid the price for sharing his concerns publicly about the new Gen 6 car, many other drivers admitted to still trying to figure out their own race cars.

Top among that group, however, was Kyle Busch, who overcame a Lap 48 pit road speeding penalty to finish fourth in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota.

“Man it was really unique,” Busch said. “When I was out front, I was fast as heck.”

“But behind others, then I was wrecking loose,” Busch continued. “All in all it was fun and today was the first part of figuring out the nuances of this race car.”

Surprising: In his 150th career start, Joey Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion, made an uncharacteristic mistake. Just like his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, Logano sped down pit road on his first pit stop.

Logano rebounded, just like Busch, to finish in the 12^th spot.

“I screwed up,” Logano said. “I went down a lap but never caught our break to go.”

“I felt like we had a top-five car but I made a dumb mistake.”

Not Surprising: Although not running a full-time season, NASCAR’s Iron Man Mark Martin continued to show his mettle, finishing 14^th in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine and moving one spot up to sixth place in the point standings.

“It was fun,” Martin said. “I didn’t get a good restart on the last one but other than that, it was a good solid day by this team and car.”

Surprising: There is a bit of surprising name up there in the top ten in points and he just so happens to drive for the King. Aric Almirola, driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion, may have finished 16^th at Vegas but he remains right there in the tenth spot in the point standings.

“We probably had an 8^th – 12^th place car so I’m disappointed we finished 16^th,” Almirola said. “We didn’t have any major mistakes and I think points-wise we are still decent.”

Almirola tweeted this after the race, “Headed to one of my favorite tracks next week in top 10 in points. Proud of my team!”

Not Surprising: Finally, the determination and grit of the reigning champ Brad Keselowski came through yet again. Keselowski posted his first top-ten finish at Las Vegas and brought the Blue Deuce home in the third spot.

“Never give up,” Keselowski said. “Never give up. This team doesn’t and we didn’t today.”

The champ is taking that attitude right into Bristol next weekend. And he admitted he has no idea how the new Gen 6 car will react on the first short track of the season.

“That’s why you’ve got to watch,” Keselowski said simply.

March 12, 2013
2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Richard Petty Motorsports

Getty Images for NASCAR

Today our 2013 Sprint Cup team previews move on to the Richard Petty Motorsports team, which fields the No.9 and the No.43 Ford Fusions in the Sprint Cup Series.

After drivers Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola finished the 2012 season in 18th and 20th, respectively, both were re-signed by Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2013 season. Ambrose will pilot the No.9 Ford Fusion with sponsorship from DeWalt and Almirola will drive the iconic No.43 Ford Fusion and will be sponsored by Smithfield Foods.

Both Ambrose and Almirola ran well in 2012, with both drivers finishing in the top 10 numerous times and Ambrose capturing the win at Watkins Glen. With Drew Blickensderfer returning as crew chief for Ambrose and Todd Parrott returning as crew chief for Almirola, look for both drivers to have some good runs once again in 2013.

Ambrose has proven he can get the job done on road courses and this could be the year that he finally captures that elusive oval win he has so desperately been longing for. Almirola could also find himself in Victory Lane this year under the watchful eye of his seasoned crew chief, Parrott. Richard Petty Motorsports will definitely be a team to keep an eye on this year.

January 16, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In a weekend full of champion-crowning, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Surprising: For a driver known, as ‘bad’, brash and cocky, there were some surprisingly humble moments from the 28 year old driver who brought Penske Racing its first ever NASCAR championship.

“It means the world, it really does,” Bradley Aaron Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge and Sprint Cup Champion, said after finishing 15^th and securing the ultimate prize. “I’ve got the best team in racing and I’m just so thrilled to be a part of it.”

“From the top down, Roger Penske, Paul Wolfe, everybody else, the crew guys and my family, that means so much,” Keselowski continued. “You can’t do this sport by yourself no matter how good you are.”

“My family made incredible sacrifices and I’m just so fortunate to have them around me,” Keselowski said. “Without them, none of this is possible and they deserve way more credit than I do.”

Keselowski’s parents, who gave up their lives to their son’s racing career, were equally proud and humble in Victory Lane.

“How many people get to realize this dream?” Bob Keselowski, Brad’s dad and a racer in his own right, said. “There’s a million short track racers out there.”

“I’m just so blown away.”

“He has reached the pinnacle of success and I’m so unbelievably proud of my son,” Brad mom’s Kay said. “I’m ecstatic, just ecstatic.”

“I was holding my breath all race long and praying to God that it would all come together.”

Not Surprising: Of course, once the Miller Lite started to flow in celebration of his championship, Keselowski, sporting a good-sized beer glass, returned to his usual self, tweeting from the media center and wise-cracking in fun with all.

“I’ve got a little bit of a buzz going on right now,” Keselowski said after his victory on the show LIVE on ESPN. “I’ve been drinking for a little bit.”

After checking his phone and adding about 6,000 new followers on his Twitter account, Keselowski, with 5 wins, 13 top-five and 23 top-ten finishes, discussed how he will now approach being the NASCAR champion.

“Expect the unexpected,” Keselowski said, with his trademark grin. “That’s my MO, right?”

And on how being the NASCAR champ might change his life, Keselowski replied, “I’ve always wanted to date a celebrity….but not a Kardashian.”

And finally, Keselowski revealed his surprising powers of prediction, especially as it related to the points needed to secure the Sprint Cup.

“I predicted that the champion would need 2400 points to win,” Keselowski said. And that was the exact number of points, 2400 total, that the second driver in history to win the Cup and Nationwide championships had when the checkered flag flew.

“I feel like the best is yet to come,” Keselowski said as he wrapped up his media availability for the final time of the 2012 season.

Surprising: While not surprising to see team owner Rick Hendrick in Victory Lane, it was surprising that he was not there to see his driver Jimmie Johnson crowned six time champion.

Hendrick instead celebrated his team’s first ever win and the first ever win at Homestead-Miami Speedway for driver Jeff Gordon, commemorating his 20 year partnership with sponsor Dupont in the HMS No. 24 Chevrolet.

“Yeah, it’s disappointing,” Mr. H. said. “If you let that destroy you, you’ll never be able to win again.”

“It’s racing,” Hendrick continued. “I’m celebrating Jeff’s win and letting the other deal go.”

Driver and four-time champion Jeff Gordon might have been surprised to even be in the race, let alone Victory Lane, after his fracas the week before with competitor Clint Bowyer. The four-time champ was able to put the drama behind him, however, to score his 87^th career victory and his second win of the 2012 season.

“This is just huge,” Gordon said. “It’s been an emotional week and a hard one; one of the hardest ones I’ve ever gone through just looking back on my decision.”

“So to come here and focus on the car with this silver commemorative paint scheme for 20 years of Dupont and to be able to end in Victory Lane, it was just an awesome team effort.”

Not Surprising: Even though starting the race behind the leader in the point standings, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus seemed on target to parlay some pit strategy into that coveted six pack.

But an uncharacteristic lug nut issue and an even more unusual oil leak that proved fatal closed the door on the championship hopes for the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. And Johnson, not surprisingly, found it a bitter pill to swallow.

“You know, to be close, it just sucks to be close and not get it,” Johnson said. “Pretty heartbreaking.”

“We were doing what we needed to and certainly in position to put a lot of pressure on the No. 2 car.”

“Stuff happens,” Johnson continued. “It’s racing.”

“I just have to reflect back on an amazing year.”

Surprising: Probably the most surprised driver coming out of the Ford EcoBoost 400 was none other than Clint Bowyer. Not only did he finish second in the race to nemesis of the week before Jeff Gordon, but he also scored second place in the point standings in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing.

“To be honest, I didn’t even think I could reach second,” the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said of his runner up spot in the points. “That was the goal I’d set.”

“And I just wanted to catch the 24,” Bowyer said of his runner up race finish. “That was the only what-if that went through my mind at the end.”

“Probably went through your mind too.”

“Now I’m going to do whatever I want to do next week.”

Not Surprising: As with every end to the season, there were plenty of farewells to be said. Ryan Newman, who finished third in the season finale, bade farewell to the US Army as his sponsor.

“The US Army Chevrolet, four years strong,” Newman said. “We’re proud to represent them and proud of their support and we wanted to finish on a great note.”

Another farewell was said by Matt Kenseth, leaving the only race team home that he has ever known with Roush Fenway Racing and moving on to Joe Gibbs Racing.

“The team really proved that they gave me all they’ve got this season regardless of my plans for the future,” Kenseth said.

Joey Logano, who leaves Joe Gibbs Racing to partner with new champ Keselowski at Penske Racing, had some interesting words to mark the end of his tenure in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

“And that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” Logano tweeted. “Thanks to all of @JoeGibbsRacing for 7 great years.”

The final farewell was most poignant, however, as Dodge won the championship and bid adieu to the sport of NASCAR.

“It’s been a long run,” Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of the SRT Brand and Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler Group, said. “I’m still pinching myself.”

“It’s not bittersweet,” Gilles continued. “If anything, it’s an exclamation point on an effort that’s 11 years in the making.”

Surprising: Another Hendrick Chase driver was surprisingly upbeat, particularly since his teammate lost the championship to Keselowski.

And in spite of missing two races due to a concussion, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was also upbeat about finishing the season with a top-10 in his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

“I want to congratulate Brad on his championship,” Junior said. “He’s a buddy of mine and he did everything he had to do to win this thing.”

“This has been a really good season for me personally,” Dale Junior continued. “I’ve had a blast.”

“I can’t wait to test the new car and get to Daytona,” Junior said. “It will be a whole new ball game.”

Not Surprising: Yet again, Kyle Busch led the most laps in the race and failed to find Victory Lane, instead coming in fourth. In fact, this was the ninth race in a row where the driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota led the most laps and did not win.

“I think I’ve said it the last five weeks – that’s our year,” Busch said. “It’s just a shame that we were not able to come out here and put it in Victory Lane like we should.”

“We’ll have to see what we look forward to next year.”

Surprising: The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet not only finished ninth but had a surprisingly record-setting day in the process. Kurt Busch scored his third straight top-10 finish, the first time ever that Furniture Row Racing has had three consecutive top-10 finishes.

“Finishing the season with three straight top-10s and four straight top-15s – you just can’t ask for much more in a short period of time together,” Busch said. “We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the last six weeks and that gives us all plenty of confidence heading into the off season.”

Not Surprising: The young driver of the infamous No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports continued his great streak of race runs, finishing seventh in the season finale.

“We had a strong car all day,” Almirola said. “That was a great way to go out.”

“I’m excited about next year,” Almirola continued. “These guys give me great race cars so we’re gonna win races.”

As the 2012 season comes to a close, here’s to a Happy Thanksgiving, a blessed Christmas and a truly amazing New Year! See you at Daytona in 2013!

November 21, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

[media-credit name=”Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]On a repaved track that even team owner Jack Roush pronounced surprisingly fast and treacherous and with a record number of cautions to boot, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 12^th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Surprising: While many know his wicked sense of humor through social media, they now know just how much it means for him to stand in Victory Lane, not as a lame duck with a team he will leave at year end, but as the first time race winner on the newly repaved Kansas Speedway.

“It really means a lot,” Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford for Roush Fenway Racing said in Victory Lane, his voice choked with emotion.” I really got to thank God for all the opportunities he’s put in front of me.”

Kenseth’s victory was not an easy one, having hit the outside wall hard and sustaining right side damage to the car. This was Kenseth’s first Kansas win, his third victory of the season, and his 24^th career victory, moving him into a tie for 26^th on the all-time Series win list.

“You never know when your next win is,” Kenseth said. “Especially as you get older, you appreciate it more.”

“I’m really thankful and humbled to be here honestly.”

Not Surprising: Whether the lucky horseshoe or shades of the ‘Six Million Dollar Man’, Chad Knaus and team 48 proved they could rebuild the battered back end of Jimmie Johnson’s wrecked race car, making it better, stronger and faster.

In fact, Johnson was so much better, stronger, and faster that after the on pit road rebuild, he rallied back to finish ninth in his Lowe’s Chevrolet. And with that comeback, Johnson, not surprisingly, also had a message to share with his fellow Chase competitors.

“I’m just now getting a chance to look at the damage on the car and it was pretty severe,” Johnson said after the race. “I’m definitely proud of this team and the fact that we never give up.”

“It’s more mature racing here in 2012,” Johnson continued. “We showed what our team is capable of.”

“I hope the other guys are paying attention.”

Surprising: The championship point’s leader surprisingly continued to have survival on his mind, a theme that carried over from Talladega right into the race in the Midwest heartland.

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Blue Deuce, managed to finish eighth, one spot ahead of Chaser Jimmie Johnson, over whom he maintains a seven point lead in the standings.

“I said when we finished Talladega that somebody should make ‘I Survived Talladega’ t-shirts,” Keselowski said. “Well, I didn’t know coming to Kansas it was going to be the same.”

“Just wrecks and accidents and blown tires; everything you can imagine happened,” Keselowski continued. “It seemed like every wreck happened in front of me.”

“I felt really lucky to survive it.”

Not Surprising: While Kansas broke many hearts on race day this past weekend, there was no one more heart broken than the driver of the No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion. Aric Almirola qualified fifth and led over 60 laps of the race before blowing a tire and slamming into the wall so hard that it took his breath away.

“I have never in my entire life had a race car that good,” Almirola said. “It was just so fast and so easy to drive.”

“I hate that it ended like this but I have always been told you have to give a few away before you can win one,” Almirola continued. “We certainly gave one away today.”

Surprising: It was indeed a tale of two Kansas races, yet with a surprisingly similar result. Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota finished second for the second time at Kansas Speedway.

“Well, it’s a lot different mood after this one,” Truex said after the race. “After the first one I was disappointed. Today, I’m happy with my team and my race car.”

“We really had to battle for this one,” That’s a good run for us for sure.”

With his bridesmaid finish, Truex Jr. gained one position in the point standings to sixth, 43 points out of first.

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, Kansas was killing Clint Bowyer softly with its song, even though he finished sixth in his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Benefitting Avon Foundation Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing.

“I think I started on the outside one time early in the race and just every time it just killed me,” Bowyer said. “I don’t know what the hell was going on behind us.”

“They kept wrecking,” Bowyer continued. “Restarts kind of killed us all day long.”

Surprising: There were a surprising number of temper tantrums, more typical of a short track like Martinsville than the mile and a half at Kansas. Tempers flared between Danica Patrick and Landon Cassill, as they did between Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman.

Patrick, in her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet actually took herself out on lap 155 as a result of her on-track tiff with the driver of the No. 83 Burger King Toyota.

“I have just been really frustrated with the No. 83,” Patrick said. “It’s been pretty consistent with him getting into me.”

“So, at some point in time, I have to stand up for myself,” Patrick continued. “The bummer is I’m out of the race and he’s not.”

Patrick finished 32^nd, while Cassill brought home his race car for a much better 18th place finish.

Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota, finished 31^st after a scuffle with the driver of the No. 39 Code 3 Associates Chevrolet. And this one might result in some payback as the 2012 season winds down.

“Everything is just on edge,” Busch said. “Newman just ran up on the back of me and got me loose.”

“So, just impatience,” Busch continued. “I’m glad he’s wrecked along with me and he’ll get another one here before the year is out.”

Not Surprising: With his crew chief back after suspension, it was not surprising for this driver to pull off a top five finish. In fact, Paul Menard, in the No. 27 Certainteed Insulation/Menards Chevrolet, finished third at Kansas.

“We had Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) back this weekend,” Menard said. “He is well rested after six weeks off and had some good ideas to try this weekend.”

“We had a good car,” Menard continued. “It was just a matter of getting us up there.”

Surprising: The ‘uh oh’ uttered by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon surprisingly captured the moment late in the race for Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet.

Kahne, who started out on the pole after shattering the track qualifying record, had a chance to win before he shut off his engine during a caution in an attempt to save fuel.

As a result, he lost several spots on the race track before getting his car back up to minimum speed, managing a fourth place finish instead of that oh-so-close victory.

“It just wouldn’t re-fire,” Kahne said after the race. “Disappointing.”

“It was coming to me at the end,” Kahne continued. “We just weren’t close enough at that point in time.”

Not Surprising: From telling his team to get their heads out of their ‘expletive’ to praising them effusively after the race, Tony Stewart did, in his own words, have ‘an eventful day.’

The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet started 33^rd, had to overcome a pit stop where his crew left a wrench in the car, battled an incident with Jeff Burton and a spin to finish fifth.

This was Smoke’s sixth top-five in Sprint Cup starts at Kansas, pre and post repaving, having to pass 74 cars during the race to do so.

“We had some stuff to deal with, but our guys never gave up,” Stewart said. “We probably had to pass more cars than anybody today, but that seems to be our MO.”

“That’s how we won a championship last year, by never giving up.”

Surprising: While there was a surprising bit of a confusion on the part of team owner Rick Hendrick about the status of Dale Earnhardt Junior’s return to the race car (and he will return at Martinsville), substitute driver Regan Smith was feeling surprisingly right at home in the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

In fact, Smith felt so much at home that he finished top-ten, in the seventh position.

“It’s been nice to be able to step in and have them treat me like a normal driver,” Smith said. “I know Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) is excited to get back so that is going to be good for him.”

“Looking forward to whatever comes next for me.”

Not Surprising: The other drivers in new seats struggled on the newly repaved Kansas track. Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet, finished 25^th and A.J. Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, finished even further back in 35^th.

But not surprisingly, both drivers and teams looked on the bright side of life in spite of the wrecks and results.

“Kurt Busch showed all of us today what an impressive driver he is,” Todd Berrier, crew chief, said. “It was the performance that counted today, not the finishing result.”

“The car was fast and we were running well,” Allmendinger said. “Tried to save it and I feel bad.”

“I hope I’m in the car next week, but if not, it’s meant the world to get back to the sport,” Dinger continued. “I love the sport.”

October 24, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Geico 400

[media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]In the opening salvo of the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Surprising: The following words from his Chase video promo proved prophetic for the driver who likened his victory to a win in the opening round of a heavyweight fight for the championship.

“I didn’t start out wanting to be a race car driver,” Brad Keselowski said in the video. “I started out wanting to be a championship race car driver.”

Also, just as he predicted in his Chase video, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing had to battle a championship veteran, none other than five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, for the race win.

“Of course at every stop up the ranks there was some veteran that wanted to test me,” Keselowski continued in the video. “Someone I had to prove myself to.”

“These days, well, not much has changed. I’m Brad Keselowski and this is my Chase.”

Yes, at least so far in the championship battle, it most certainly is Keselowski’s Chase. With his win, Keselowski now leads the point standings for the first time in his career.

Not Surprising: With the Chase competition in full gear, it was not surprising that a bit of controversy played into the race finish.

Runner up Jimmie Johnson, who has never won at Chicagoland, expressed concerns about Keselowski of blending prematurely, crossing the line a little bit too early after making his final pit stop in his opinion.

“He did cut up early,” Johnson said. “It did impede my progress.”

“But it didn’t affect the outcome, I don’t believe, “Johnson continued. “The way he made quick work in traffic and stretched it out on me, I’m not sure I would have held him off.”

Although NASCAR reviewed the situation, the sanctioning body ruled that there was no foul. Johnson finished second, his ninth top-10 finish in 11 races at Chicagoland and his 18^th top-10 finish in 2012.

Johnson was also the lap leader of the race, leading a whopping 172 laps of the Geico 400. He kept Chase leader Keselowski in his sights, however, and is now just three points back.

Surprising: Both Roush Fenway drivers in the Chase had surprisingly bad days. Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford, had the shock of his life and Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford was shocked by how bad his final pit stop was.

“A shock fell off, I guess,” Kenseth said. “I guess it didn’t get tight.”

“We had a brake line get loose at Bristol and a shock fall off in this race, so obviously we have to get to the bottom of that.”

“We were really good there at the end and we did our last stop and the car just went bad,” Biffle said. “It never fails, the last stop of the day we put our tires on and it went bad.”

Kenseth finished 18^th and fell three positions to 11^th in the Chase standings, 26 back of the leader. Biffle finished a bit better in 13^th but lost three positions to 8^th in the Chase standings and is now 19 points behind the leader.

Not Surprising: The grunt of pain when this driver hit the wall hard said it all for his race, as well as being symbolic for much of his 2012 season.

Even bringing back his old school mustache could not help Jeff Gordon as his throttle stuck, hurtling him into the safer barrier and relegating him to a 35^th place finish. Gordon did not budge from the 12^th position, however, is now a daunting 47 points away from the Chase points leader.

“We were having a good day,” Gordon said. “We had a top-5 car and who knows what we could have done.”

“We had a throttle stick,” Gordon said. “I left off and it didn’t come all the way back.

“In this deal, you can’t afford issues like that.”

Surprising: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had a surprising destination in mind as his goal for the rest of the Chase, especially having to start from the rear due to an engine issue and finishing eighth.

“I was disappointed in myself for making that mistake with the engine and getting us that far back at the start of the race,” the driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/7-Eleven/National Guard Chevrolet said. “We really couldn’t overcome the track position.”

“We need to be in the media center after all these races as much as possible,” Junior said, noting his new destination goal. “Eighth is all right, but I know Brad is going to run well and Jimmie is obviously going to be tough.”

“You can’t run eighth every week and win the championship.”

Junior maintained his seventh position in the Chase standings and is 17 points back from leader Keselowski.

Not Surprising: Earnhardt Junior’s teammate Kasey Kahne was the Chase’s official biggest mover, gaining six positions to fifth in the standings with his third place finish.

“The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was good all day,” Kahne said. “The pit stops were awesome and I felt good about it.”

While Kahne was happy about his finish, he also expressed some concerns about what he and his crew chief Kenny Francis will face in the next mile and a half track on the schedule.

“We made a lot of adjustments and Kenny did a nice job, but we just couldn’t figure anything out to make the car better,” Kahne said. “So, I just feel like I was lacking today and hopefully we can talk about it this week and get it better for some of these other 1.5 mile tracks.”

Surprising: Michael Waltrip Racing, after blazing into the Chase with its two primary drivers Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr., were surprising non-factors for the win in the first race of the championship ten.

Truex, Jr., driving the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, finished ninth and Bowyer, piloting the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, finished right behind him in tenth. They are sixth and ninth respectively in the point standings after the Chicagoland race.

“It just wasn’t a good day,” Bowyer said simply. “I don’t know whether it was strategy or pit stops or what, but it seemed like we lost spots on pit road all day and it just cost us.”

“You ain’t going to win a championship with decent days.”

“We were horrible at the start,” Truex Jr. said. “We made lots and lots and lots and lots of changes – big changes and it just worked at the end.”

“It wasn’t the way we wanted to start the Chase.”

Not Surprising: The driver that lost his spot in the twelve eligible to run for the Chase at Richmond could only wonder what could have been, especially after having a top-5 run at Chicagoland.

“The day started off really good,” Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota, said. “We were following Jeff Gordon up to the front.”

“We had a strong Doublemint Camry,” Busch continued. “Just didn’t quite have enough for the top-three today, but we got a fourth-place effort out of it.”

Surprising: In an unusual move, NASCAR actually reversed a penalty, however, it was still a very big setback for one young driver.

Aric Almirola, in his No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion, who was penalized by NASCAR for a loose tire, was later told by NASCAR that the call was a mistake, giving him his pass through penalty lap back. Almirola, who was having a good run, just could not recover and finished 17^th.

“That was very bizarre,” Almirola said. “To be running fourth and get a pass through penalty and lose a lap and then have them tell you that they are sorry and give you your lap back, but you are on the tail end of the lead lap so you go from running fourth to 23^rd or 24^th, that was pretty pathetic.”

“They fixed it and gave us our lap back, but it was disappointing.”

Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, after running out of fuel to finish 16^th in his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, made the challenge of the post race.

“This was just us making a big mistake with our fuel again,” Hamlin said. “It’s tough but we’re strong enough and fast enough this Chase that we can make up 15 points easily.”

In fact, Hamlin expressed such confidence heading into the second Chase race at Loudon that he posted the following tweet @dennyhamlin.

“This is 1 week of 10. We will win next week.”

September 19, 2012
Pure Michigan 400 Review: Bizzare Day at Michigan

[media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]As the 43^rd Annual Pure Michigan 400 came to a close, the race was anyone’s game with some of the top names in the sport racing for the lead position. Brad Keselowski held the lead with 10 laps to go, as five-time champion Jimmie Johnson was putting the pressure on him. Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Light Dodge got loose one lap later and Johnson was able to sneak by him to take over the lead. Greg Biffle, who was running third with ten to go, was able to pass Keselowski for second as Johnson took over the lead.

It looked as if Johnson would drive on to win his fourth race of the season, until his engine expired with 6 laps remaining – making that the third Hendrick Motorsports engine with problems this weekend. The race would finish under green-white-checkered as Biffle held off a hard-charging Keselowski to win for the second time this season and third time at MIS. Kasey Kahne finished in third position, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marcos Ambrose rounding out the top five.

“It was a wild race. We struggled with our car throughout the weekend, worked real hard on it overnight,” said Biffle after the race. “My car was super good at the beginning of the race when the track was green. Once I got on restarts and in traffic, I wasn’t that good.

“We just kept working on it, trying different things. But, we were so good out front. I knew once we got out front we’d be tough to beat. I know that a lot of people don’t expect us to win the championship, and don’t think we can compete for the title. But, we will be a factor when it comes down to Homestead.”

This moves the No. 16 team to the points lead, with 20 points over Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth. Earnhardt moves to third position in standings, with his teammate Johnson dropping three positions to fourth. Keselowski rounds out the top five, 47 points behind the leader.

Cautions Breed Cautions

First caution of the day occurred on Lap 6 when Aric Almirola and David Gilliland got together on the front stretch. Unfortunately for the rest of the field, this was just the start of the cautions for the day.

[media-credit name=”Wesley Hitt/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Mark Martin started the race from the pole position and ended his day with a bizarre crash on Lap 64. Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte were racing in front of Martin in an attempt to stay on the lead lap, when the two got together coming out of Turn 4. Martin dove low to try and avoid the incident, but sent his car spinning down pit road. His car then crashed into an opening of the pit wall just in front of the No. 5 team’s pit stall. Crew members dove to safety as debris flew from the pit stall and the No. 55 Toyota.

“That was a pretty freak angle that I got at that,” Martin said. “I’m not sure what you could do. It could have been really bad if I would have got in that hole a little deeper where it caught me in the door instead of in the crush area back there. It’s hard to keep up with what exactly is going to be happening there. I was hoping that I was going to miss the pit wall completely and not tear the car up, but then I saw that the angle I was going that I was going to hit the end of pit wall.”

Luckily, Martin was able to walk away from the incident safely, along with the crews on pit road. If the car would have hit any closer to the driver’s door than it did, Martin may not have been so lucky. Martin will continue driving part-time for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2013, with 22 Sprint Cup races on his schedule.

Drivers were having a tough time getting their cars to stick to the track in Turn 4 on Sunday, including Watkins Glen winner, Marcos Ambrose. On Lap 77 his Stanley Tools Ford got loose and slid up the track and tapped the No. 78 sending him into the Turn 4 wall. Regan Smith was able to continue, but finished the race in 29th position, 47 laps down.

The numerous amounts of cautions continue on Lap 90 when Joey Logano blew a right front tire due to a fender rub he sustained a few laps earlier. Two laps earlier the No. 42 of Juan Pablo Montoya got into Logano and forced him into the outside wall, causing the fender rub. Montoya finished in 26th position, Logano in 31st place.

On Lap 135 Kurt Busch’s bad luck continued as he appeared to break something in the right front of his No. 51 Toyota and slammed into the wall. This brought out a caution and changed up pit strategy as 11 cars did not pit, including Earnhardt who assumed the race lead. Earnhardt led the field for a total of 25 laps after starting in the back of the field due to wrecking his car in final practice on Saturday.

The last crash-induced caution occurred when Trevor Bayne blew his right front tire on Lap 182, causing him to finish in 24th position.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

With only three races left until the Chase for the Sprint Cup, all eyes are on drivers like Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin who are riding the line for falling out of the top ten in points. Kahne is only 33 points away from jumping into the top ten and continues to hold one of the wild cards that will allow him access into the Chase. If he races his way into the Chase and Hamlin or Stewart were to drop out of the top ten, this would give the wild card slot to one of them. As of now, Kahne and Ryan Newman hold these cards.

Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, and Joey Logano still have a shot to steal the wild card away from Newman, as they all hold one win this season. The wild card option goes to the drivers outside of the top ten who have the most wins this season; so far the only driver with more than one win outside of the top ten is Kahne.

August 20, 2012
Aric Almirola Pushes Patriotism with Petty Partnership

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]On the weekend before the Fourth of July, the driver of the famed No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports car, Aric Almirola, is celebrating a new partnership with Eckrich and Operation Homefront at Kentucky Motor Speedway.

“I’m excited to be sporting the colors of Eckrich at Kentucky for our first of three races for them,” Almirola said. “It’s always fun to have new paint schemes and new partners on our car.”

Eckrich, part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, specializes in providing premium-quality meat products to families throughout the country. This is the first race of a three-race program where their colors and logo will be on Almirola’s race car.

“The paint scheme’s really nice,” Almirola said. “It’s hunter green and brings out a lot of the Eckrich colors and logo.”

“It’s a nice looking car and it will pop out really well on the race track.”

In addition to his dedicated sponsor, however, the young Petty Motorsports racer is also thrilled with the new patriotic partnership with Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that helps over 590,000 military families in need.

“More importantly is not only our involvement with Eckrich, but also our involvement with Operation Homefront through Eckrich,” Almirola continued. “It’s a neat deal and a great way to give back to our military families.”

“Anytime you look at the fact that we get to wake up every morning and do whatever we want because of people out there fighting for our freedom is pretty cool,” Almirola said. “The military families make huge sacrifices for us to do that.”

“For Eckrich to give back to military families and donate money and donate food and product to help out those in need, it’s just a great cause.”

“I think a lot of people take for granted the sacrifices made so that all of us to not worry about bombs flying over our heads,” Almirola continued. “We live in a protected and free country and it all has to do with the people in our military and their families.”

“To have a group like Eckrich, who gives back to an organization like Operation Homefront, I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Many fans may also not realize that for Almirola, this patriotic partnership is personal.

“I was actually born in Eglin Air Force base in Panama City,” Almirola said. “My dad was in the Air Force when I was born and when I was growing up.”

“So, I have lived being in a military family.”

Almirola is also excited about the promotion at the track as a part of this new partnership between Petty Motorsports, Eckrich and Operation Homefront. He is particularly pleased with the specially designed tire bank to collect change to help military families in need.

“The people at Richard Petty Motorsports put together a tire bank from the tire we raced over Memorial Day weekend,” Almirola said. “It’s a Goodyear tire that has on the sidewall ‘Support Our Troops.’

“We took one of those tires and made a bank to put out at the track,” Almirola continued. “Hopefully, when fans are walking by they can put a nickel, a dime or a quarter or anything they have into the bank to help Operation Homefront.”

“We’re looking to add to the cause.”

While Eckrich kicked off the campaign with $200,000 in donations from their product sales, both Almirola and Richard Petty put 43 cents into the tire bank to get that effort started.

“That’s what we’re looking for, that everyone who walks by that tire bank will put in 43 cents,” Almirola said. “43 is a special number to Richard Petty, RPM and me so that’s the key number we’re looking for.”

“But at the end of the day, if you don’t have 43 cents, if you have a nickel or a dime or three pennies, we hope you stick it in there,” Almirola continued. “Ten cents can really make a difference when you start adding them together.”

Almirola’s team owner echoed his driver’s sentiments when it came time to share the spare change to benefit Operation Homefront.

“I’m always looking for a place to throw my spare change and thought this racing bank was just about perfect,” Petty said. “We’ve always been a family and race team that wants to give back to the people who sacrifice so much for us.”

“Hopefully the fans will keep filling up this bank as a simple way to say, ‘thanks’ to all our military families.”

Almirola also has another special event planned at the race track this weekend. He will be entertaining one special military family in his pit stall.

“The family is from right here in Kentucky and we plan on showing them a good time,” Almirola said. “That will be our way of thanking them for all their sacrifices.”

With patriotism on his mind, Almirola also revealed his plans for the upcoming Independence Day holiday.

“I think we’re going to be celebrating that day at Richard Petty’s birthday party,” Almirola said. “They’re having a 75^th birthday party for him down there at Daytona.”

“We’re planning on celebrating the Fourth of July with RP so that will be a lot of fun.”

“Independence Day to me is about truly that,” Almirola continued. “It’s about the fact that we live in a country that is independent and free and that we get to do what we want.”

“I get to drive a race car for a living,” Almirola said. “It’s incredible to be able to think that is even reality.”

“I’m just very thankful to live in the United States and I’m proud to be an American citizen.”

June 29, 2012
Aric Almirola Experiencing Opportunities of a Lifetime

[media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]While Aric Almirola did not have quite the qualifying run that he had hoped for at Pocono Raceway, the young driver of the No. 43 Transportation Impact Ford indeed feels like he is having the opportunities of his lifetime.

He and his team, including crew chief Mike Ford, have been improving steadily, particularly in the last three Cup races. In fact, Almirola brought his famed race car to a sixth place finish at the Monster Mile last weekend.

“I think it’s a team effort,” Almirola said. “Bringing Mike Ford on has certainly helped.”

“But as a whole, as a team, and as an organization, we’ve gotten better,” Almirola continued. “We’re running stronger and our finishes show that.”

“I’m really proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports and all these guys on the No. 43 team,” Almirola said. “At the beginning of the year it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t what we really wanted either.”

“So, for all of them to keep their heads up and keep working hard and not getting discouraged and to finally see the hard work pay off in the last few weeks have been good.”

Almirola also feels that he is having the experience of a lifetime in working with his crew chief. He is especially impressed with Ford’s leadership abilities and his attention to detail.

“Our relationship has come along really good and really quick,” Almirola said of his crew chief Ford. “It’s always easier when you have fast cars.”

“So, when your cars are driving good and you’ve got speed, everybody’s happy, things are good and everything’s a lot easier.”

“The last few weeks have been great,” Almirola continued. “Me and Mike have hit it off really good. I feel like we understand each other.”

“He leads this team really well,” Almirola said. “I think the experience is huge but his work ethic is great.”

“He’s hands on and out in the shop. He’s been around the sport for a long time and he’s done all these guys’ jobs,” Almirola continued. “So, he knows each aspect of the car and understands what needs to be done.”

“He has a certain way that he wants things done and he is very meticulous,” Almirola said. “I think that with as competitive as our sport is today, the detail is really important and he really focuses on the details.”

Almirola, however, readily admits that he has not had the experience of a lifetime at Pocono so far. In fact, he has found everything and every turn challenging for his first race in a Cup car at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

“It’s a tough track, really tough,” Almirola said. “It takes some learning and getting used to I’m finding out. So, my first time here in a Cup car, I’ve been finding the challenges.”

“The whole place has proven to be a challenge for me so far this weekend.”

Although Almirola qualified 29^th, he feels that he will be able to improve as the racing begins. And he and Mike Ford may have to use some pit or tire strategy to move toward the front of the pack.

“I think in the race everything will happen a lot smoother,” Almirola said. “I’ll be in a pack and be able to judge my speed a lot better off other cars.”

“We’ll have to play some strategy because it’s going to be really tough to drive from the back where we qualified up to the top ten or so,” Almirola continued. “It’s going to take some strategy and some good pit stops, which have to be solid all day.”

Almirola is thrilled with one aspect of coming to Pocono, that of bringing on a new race sponsor. For the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR, Almirola has welcomed Transportation Impact to the race car.

“Brian Moffitt and all the marketing guys at RPM have done an outstanding job of bringing on new sponsors,” Almirola said. “These are new sponsors that are coming on that have never even been involved in the sport.”

“We’re bringing new money to the sport which is always good to see,” Almirola continued. “Weekends like this weekend, having Transportation Impact on board, is a huge help.”

“It’s no secret that it takes a lot of money to run these race teams,” Almirola said. “So every race we get sponsored is a big deal.”

Experiencing the opportunities of a lifetime has, however, brought its share of challenges to the up and coming racer. First and foremost are the time demands of the Cup Series, followed closely by the extreme competition on the track.

“The time demand has been most surprising,” Almirola said. “I knew it would take some time to learn and there would be weekends like this weekend.”

“But what I didn’t realize was the time and attention and focus that it would take,” Almirola continued. “I knew it would more than what I was used to running a Nationwide car or a Truck but it is unbelievable how much time I spend focused on this 43 car, whether I’m at the race track or when I’m not doing sponsor meet and greets or meeting with new potential sponsors or just going to the shop for debriefs.”

“All the things that it takes to be successful at this level take time,” Almirola said. “It’s a 24 hour a day, seven day a week job.”

“I think the other challenge is just how competitive this series is,” Almirola continued. “You can’t be off just a little bit and you’ll be 30^th.”

“You look at guys like Jeff Gordon and even Jamie McMurray and they have had their struggles,” Almirola said. “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s how competitive our sport is.”

“From week to week, you have to be on your game all the time.”

In spite of the challenges, Almirola acknowledges two of the biggest opportunities of a lifetime that he is experiencing and will experience soon.

“It’s amazing to race for Richard Petty,” Almirola said. “Just the experience and the knowledge he has and to be able to drive the No. 43 car is so special.”

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Almirola continued. “I remember when I was a kid and watching him race.”

“So, to have the opportunity to drive that 43 car is very special,” Almirola said. “I’m very thankful for it.”

“I think the biggest opportunity that I will have and the thing that people would be surprised to know about me is that I’m getting ready to be a dad,” Almirola revealed with a grin. “That’s a big surprise.”

“He’s due in September and we’re really excited about it,” Almirola continued. “I’ll have a whole new role as a human on this planet.”

“For the past 28 years, it’s been all about me and I’m getting ready to experience something totally different,” Almirola said. “And I’m looking forward to it.”

June 9, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: FedEx 400 Autism Speaks

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While it was not surprising that the Monster Mile lived up to its reputation, with a major wreck in the early laps of the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks, here are some of the other surprises at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.

Surprising: It was surprising just how serious race winner Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Madagascar Chevrolet, was able to be about his record-setting run at the Monster Mile as he sported his rainbow-colored Madagascar wig in Victory Lane.

Johnson not only led 289 of the 400 laps for his seventh Monster Mile win, but he also tied the record of Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for most ever career wins at Dover International Speedway.

“I’m just proud of this hair,” Johnson said. “The hair really brought some speed to the team.”

“I’m never one that paid attention to stats,” Johnson said of his record-setting run. “I truthfully never thought I would be a guy that would build up any cool stats and here I am with some pretty cool stats, with legends of our sport and guys that I’ve looked up to.”

“I’m very proud of the effort and I know it’s hard to give you a serious answer with this hair on right now, but am very proud of the seven wins here and to be in that elite company.”

Not Surprising: Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, was also happy in spite of have some pit road miscues and not quite closing the deal on the race win. Harvick came in second, his 10^th top-10 finish in 23 races at the Monster Mile.

“Yeah, we had a solid race,” Harvick said. “I made a mistake on pit road there and got us back to about 20^th.”

“The car was good enough to be able to drive back through the pack.”

Surprising: It was surprising that the two drivers named Jeff, both Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, had strong race cars but continuing bad luck runs.

Jeff Gordon, who has struggled all year in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, was leading the race when he felt a tire going down. Jeff Burton on the other had had an engine fail in his No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet.

“We definitely had a loose left rear,” Jeff Gordon said. “It didn’t go on right to begin with and the left-rear tire-changer knew that.”

“And so when I started to complain about it, we knew that there might be an issue and there was,” Gordon continued. “So, in some ways we got fortunate today. I could have stayed out there and wrecked because it wasn’t really vibrating. It was getting real loose.”

“Well, first of all, we had a good car today,” Jeff Burton said. “We had a solid top-10 car easy.”

“We broke an engine here, but it just is what it is,” Burton continued. “The monkey is on us right now.”

Not Surprising: The equation of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. plus a Hendrick Motorsports race car equals consistency continued at the Monster Mile. The driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet had yet another top five run, finishing fourth and moving to third in the point standings, just ten points out of the top spot.

“We had a good car,” Junior said. “We had good speed.”

“We are getting close and finishing good when we are not winning,” Junior continued. “It was a good day for us, a good points day.”

Surprising: It was surprising to see Kyle Busch out of the race, suffering engine failure in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota. Busch finished an uncharacteristic 202 of the scheduled 400 laps and finished 29^th.

“Unfortunately, we had a valve spring break in the engine, which hit the pistons,” Busch said. “It’s real unfortunate.”

“I hate it that we give a post-race interview this way, rather than finishing.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising, however, to see the other Busch, big brother Kurt, self-destruct yet again. Kurt Busch incurred two pit road penalties and then also had an engine failure, finishing 24^th in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet.

Worse yet, after the race, Busch was suspended for the upcoming race weekend at Pocono due to a verbal altercation with one of the NASCAR media corps, Bob Pockrass of Sporting News. His probation was also extended until the end of the year.

“I accept NASCAR’s decision,” Busch said. “I put them in a box, they had to take action and it’s my fault for putting them in this position.”

“I apologize for the comments I made to Bob Pockrass.”

Surprising: It was surprising that ‘Concrete’ Carl most certainly did not live up to his reputation at the Monster Mile. Edwards, driving the No. 99 Subway Ford, hit the wall on Lap 165, finishing 26^th.

“Our front right tire went flat,” Edwards said. “I don’t know exactly why.”

“This is such a fun race track and the car was so good,” Edwards continued. “I am really frustrated our day got cut short.”

Not Surprising: Teammate Matt Kenseth had another solid run in his No. 17 Best Buy Ford to no one’s surprise. Kenseth finished third, posting his 18^th top-10 finish in 27 races at Dover, and now sits just one point out of the top spot in the point standings.

“Yeah, our finish was really good,” Kenseth said. “Our end result, can’t really complain about that.”

“I am happy to come home third with a car that didn’t drive the way we wanted it to.”

Surprising: For the first time in a Sprint Cup car at the Monster Mile, Aric Almirola had a surprisingly good run. The driver of the No. 43 Jani-King/Smithfield Ford Fusion finished the race in the sixth position.

“I would say that is pretty respectable for our first time here,” Almirola said. “It was a great day for everybody on this Jani-King Smithfield Ford.”

“I am proud of everybody and we had a really good run.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the biggest winners of the Monster Mile weekend were all of the children with autism and their families who got to not only attend the race but do so in a special area of the grandstands conducive to dealing with their challenges and where they could meet some of their NASCAR heroes.

“I know that I really appreciate what Dover International Speedway and the Autism Speaks group does to host all the families for this event,” Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and an autism spokesman, said. “I am just glad that I can do something to help this cause.”

June 7, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]In the NASCAR season’s longest race of the year, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 53^rd running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Although billed as the sport’s longest race, usually known for the endurance factor moving from day to night, this year’s Coke 600 was the quickest one ever.

The race took a total of 3 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds.

Prior to 53^rd running of the Coca Cola 600, the longest race was in 1995 at 3 hours, 56 minutes and 55 seconds.

Not Surprising: After finally scoring his 200^th win for the company that bears his name, Rick Hendrick’s prediction of more wins to follow came true. Kasey Kahne, in the No. 5 Quaker State Chevrolet, secured his first win as a Hendrick Motorsport’s driver, which came on his 300^th career start.

The win was also Kahne’s first win of the season. The 32 year old driver has now won in a Dodge, Ford, Toyota and now a Chevrolet.

“It’s been an exciting three weeks for Hendrick Motorsports,” Kahne said. “It’s exciting to be a part of that.”

“It’s so special and awesome to drive for Rick and Linda Hendrick,” Kahne continued. “For them to make me a part of their company; this is unbelievable to drive for Hendrick Motorsports and be a part of everything they do.”

Surprising: After winning last weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race, it was surprising to see Jimmie Johnson have a rare pit road miscue, especially since he was running the top-5 at that time. Johnson received a stop-and-go penalty for leaving his pits with both the gas man and the gas can on Lap 354.

“We had a couple little mistakes on pit road tonight,” Johnson said. “It happens.”

“Last week things couldn’t have gone any better and then this week we had a few little issues.”

Not Surprising: As he has been all season, it was not surprising that Greg Biffle, in his No. 16 Fastenal Ford, was a contender all race long. In fact, Biff received the 3M Lap Leader award, leading 204 laps.

Biffle maintains the points lead, ten points ahead of Matt Kenseth.

“The car was really, really good,” Biffle said. “But there at the end when the speeds picked up, we would kind of slide across the track.”

“We gained a little in points, but we really wanted to win.”

Surprising: After a most abysmal start to the season, it was surprising to see Jeff Gordon finally get a top ten finish under his belt. Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, ran strong, finishing seventh.

“We had an awesome race car and we showed it right from the drop of the green,” Gordon said. “We drove up through there.”

“This is a great effort for this team,” Gordon continued. “I’m so proud of them.”

Not Surprising: HMS teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continued his consistent streak, scoring his seventh top-10 in eight races.

“It just says we are consistent and we want to win a race,” Junior said. “That’s all I can tell you.”

“It feels good to be competitive,” Junior continued. “I don’t want to take our consistency for granted but we would like to improve just a little bit more and we’ll get some wins.”

Surprising: It was surprising how badly the Petty Motorsports drivers finished, especially after securing the pole and outside pole respectively.

Aric Almirola, who started on the pole with his famed No. 43 US Air Force Ford Fusion, finished 16th. Outside pole sitter Marcos Ambrose finished 32^nd in his No. 9 Dewalt Ford.

“When you start on the front row or the pole, you know you’ve got a fast car,” Almirola said. “So, this is tough.”

“But I can’t reiterate enough that we’re making improvement,” Almirola continued. “We see light at the end of the tunnel and that’s what it’s all about.”

“I’m proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports.”

Not Surprising: Despite the naysayers, Danica Patrick achieved her goal of completing every lap of the race. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet finished 30^th, five laps down.

“We had a lot of green-flag running and for me as a driver in general in NASCAR but especially as a new driver in the Cup Series, that hurts me,” Patrick said. “I’m just not great at making the best out of a car that’s not perfect and those runs really show that.”

“We brought the GoDaddy car home and one of the goals was to finish,” Patrick continued. “I would have liked to have been a little faster overall but I think there were some times in there when it was decent.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising to see Ryan Newman outshine his boss at a track where Tony Stewart is traditionally strong. Newman, driving the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet, finished 14^th and his boss and team owner in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished 25th .

Smoke was moving forward after adjusting on his car throughout the race only to have a tussle with Brad Keselowski on pit road. Stewart spun as a result of that contact and had to turn around to reach his pits, putting him two laps down.

Teammate Danica Patrick acknowledged that her mentor had a tough evening.

“Tony is a fantastic driver and if he had a tough day, that’s just the way the season goes,” Patrick said. “So this is NASCAR and sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.”

Not Surprising: While he may not have totally lived up to his ‘Closer’ moniker, Kevin Harvick brought his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet home in eighth place.

“We had a solid night,” Harvick said. “We snuck up there in the top-five and got our bonus point for leading a lap.”

“The pit crew was awesome and we were able to adjust our car,” Harvick continued. “This isn’t our strongest race track, but I feel like we had a solid package to build on.”

Surprising: Young Landon Cassill, in his No. 83 Burger King Real Fruit Smoothies Toyota, had a great run in the prestigious Coca Cola 600, finishing 18^th. It was his team’s best finish of the season to date and the first time that the team started and finished inside the top-20.

“Last’ week’s performance at Charlotte was a real confidence booster for us,” Cassill said. “I feel like we’re getting stronger each week and it gets me excited as a driver.”

Not Surprising: Two of the principals of Joe Gibbs Racing had a good run as they usually do. Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, finished in the runner up spot and teammate Kyle Busch, in his No. 18 M&Ms Red White and Blue Toyota, finished right behind him in third.

“It’s also good to finish like that,” Busch said. “We just need to carry on that momentum.”

“This is a good race for us so we can bring back some good notes for when we come back in October.”

May 31, 2012