Tag: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Kevin Harvick Dominates the Great Clips 300 With Decisive Win at Atlanta

Atlanta Motor Speedway is good to Kevin Harvick as he takes his third Nationwide Series win of the year in the Great Clips 300 to Benefit Feed the Children. He started the race in eighth place but quickly took over the lead from pole winner Chase Elliott on lap 37 and he was gone, leading an incredible 159 laps out of the 195 lap race.

He is now tied with Mark Martin for all-time Nationwide Series wins at Atlanta. Harvick gave JR Motorsports their eighth win of the year. There were only two minor cautions, both for debris but a light rain extended the second caution to a total of 13 laps. At the restart it was clear that Harvick was the man to beat.

“This thing was bad fast from the drop of the green flag,” Harvick said. “This is just one of those race tracks where I like the challenge of everything you get to do here. Ernie (crew chief Ernie Cope) and I have found a great setup over the years back into the trucks (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), and it’s still working today.”

Joey Logano started fourth in his No. 22 and brought home second place, but by the time he got his car handling to where he could gain on Harvick, it was too late.

“I just ran out of time,” he said. “I wish there were five or seven more laps, and I could have got to him and tried to do something with him. We were catching him two or three tenths (of a second) a lap there at the end and having some fun with it, but it was too little, too late.”

Kyle Larson, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet started the race in second and finished in third place. Larson was running up in the high groove, but clearly the bottom was where you needed to be.

“Here at Atlanta for whatever reason; it’s a really wore out track but the bottom seems to be a little faster,” stated Larson. “I tried to learn to run the bottom but you have to have your left sides on the paint and it’s really narrow down there so it’s hard, but Kevin is really good at it for whatever reason.”

Kyle Busch brought his No. 54 car home in fourth place while the series points leader Chase Elliott came home in fifth place, retaining the points lead.

Regan Smith finished in sixth followed by Brian Scott in seventh place and David Ragan in eighth. Rounding out the top ten finishing order were Ty Dillon and Elliott Sadler, in ninth and 10th respectively.

Your top five in the points standings are as follows:

1) Chase Elliott 874 2) Regan Smith -15 3) Ty Dillon -35 4) Elliott Sadler -48 5) Brian Scott- 54

The Nationwide Series’ next race will be the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Speedway on September 5th.

Complete Finishing Order:

Position	Car No.	Driver
1	5	Kevin Harvick
2	22	Joey Logano
3	42	Kyle Larson
4	54	Kyle Busch
5	9	Chase Elliott
6	7	Regan Smith
7	2	Brian Scott
8	98	David Ragan
9	3	Ty Dillon
10	11	Elliott Sadler
11	20	Matt Kenseth
12	6	Trevor Bayne
13	60	Chris Buescher
14	62	Brendan Gaughan
15	01	Landon Cassill
16	28	JJ Yeley
17	19	Mike Bliss
18	16	Ryan Reed
19	99	James Buescher
20	39	Ryan Sieg
21	31	Dylan Kwasniewsk
22	51	Jeremy Clements
23	17	Tanner Berryhill
24	14	Eric McClure
25	4	Jeffrey Earnhardt
26	40	Matt DiBenedetto
27	55	Jamie Dick
28	44	Blake Koch
29	87	Chris Cockrum
30	52	Joey Gase
31	70	Derrike Cope
32	25	John Wes Townley
33	43	Dakoda Armstrong
34	74	Mike Harmon
35	89	Morgan Shepherd
36	82	Kevin Swindell
37	23	Carlos Contreras
38	72	John Jackson
39	46	Carl Long
40	10	Jeff Green

August 30, 2014

Jamie McMurray Hoping to Score Win to Secure Chase Bid

Heading into this weekend, Jamie McMurray is one of the drivers hoping to reach victory lane so that way he can stamp his ticket for the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“I feel like our cars have been really good at the mile and a half, all of them this year,” he commented earlier this week. “That’s a little bit of a unique track because we only go there once a year. It certainly is — has the most fall-off of any track we go to as far as the tires go.

“So it’s just like anywhere else. It will be like being in the right position after the last pit stop and hoping everything falls your way.”

There is the opportunity for McMurray to do it as he qualified 15th and has been strong at Atlanta in the past with four top-10 finishes in 20 starts. He also notes that his team “tends to run better than where we’ve finished” as they haven’t been able to master adjusting the car on the last pit stop and putting themselves in position. As a result, he only has two top-fives and seven top-10s in the 24 races this far this season.

“If we can just put a whole weekend together and be able to finish off as well as or better than we ran throughout the race, yeah, I feel like the next two races should be really good for us. I hope we’re able to put it all together in one of those,” he commented. ”

McMurray is also hopeful following a solid test at Chicagoland, where he felt that his team learned some things for this weekend.

“There were a lot of teams there — all the Roush, Stewart-Haas, Michael Waltrip. And there was a lot of cars there, so they put a little rubber down. And we had a little bit of everything with rain multiple times and then also just incredibly hot temperatures. So you kind of got to see everything the track was going to do,” he comemnted. “And it was — you know, it’s good, I felt like, to have the 4 car there. He’s been — you know, I would say, if you had to pick a car all year long that’s been the fastest raw speed, the 4 car’s been that guy. So it was nice to kind of have a baseline to know what’s probably going to be fast when you go back.

“So I thought we had a really good test.”

Though, while the opportunity looms large, it can sometimes bring added pressure. McMurray says that hasn’t been the case so far as he hasn’t lain awake at night thinking of his chances.

“I mean, you just race everything single week to win,” he added. “So even though we’re down to two races, it’s really not any different than it was at the Daytona 500, the first race of the year. The goal is the same every week. You can’t really do anything different just because we’re down to two races.

“So, yeah, it’s just a regular weekend, and you go, and you perform your best.”

There is also the possibility of the intensity growing on track as the weeks tick by, though McMurray doesn’t see that either with people feeling tired right now due to the busy testing schedule.

“We tested Chicago the last two days, and after getting home from Bristol at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and then getting up at 5:00 a.m. to go to Chicago and test for two days, I think most of the people that are on that plan, we’re all worn out by the time we even get to Atlanta,” he noted. “So I don’t know if you have time really to worry about anything or have a different vibe. I think the Hendrick cars were at Martinsville this week. I think most of the garage is really busy, and you don’t have time to think about what’s going on. You’re just racing and testing and doing everything that goes along with that.”

August 30, 2014
Stewart Issues Public Statement, Cleared by NASCAR to Race

A subdued Tony Stewart addressed the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday for the first time since the fatal accident that claimed the life of Kevin Ward Jr. His voice reflected the emotional toll that the events of August 9 have had upon him.

He began by saying, “This has been one of the toughest tragedies I’ve ever had to deal with both professionally and personally. This is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain that I hope no one ever has to experience in their life.

His next thoughts were for the Ward family and the stark realization that his pain is miniscule when compared to the sorrow of the Ward family.

“With that being said,” he continued, “I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward’s family and friends are experiencing is something that I can’t possibly imagine. I want Kevin’s father, Kevin Sr., and his mother Pam, and his sisters Christi, Kayla, Katelyn, to know that every day I’m thinking about them and praying for them.”

Stewart also took the time to thank his friends and family as well as the NASCAR community for their support.

“I want to thank all my friends and family for their support through this tough emotional time, and the support from the NASCAR community, my partners, all of our employees, it’s been overwhelming,” he said. “I’ve taken the last couple weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family and also to cope with the accident in my own way. It’s given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted.”

Although Stewart did not answer any questions because of the ongoing police investigation, he did say that, “There will be a day when I can sit here and answer the questions.”

Brett Frood, executive vice president of Stewart-Haas Racing, answered a few questions after Stewart’s statement and said that the decision to race was “100 percent Tony’s.” He spoke to Stewart’s mental state explaining that “being in the racecar right now is about him getting through what has been a very emotional two weeks, what his next step is in coping with this. There’s been a great deal of empathy and sympathy for that family and what they’re going through. For Tony, it’s just been extremely emotional. This is what is going to help him.

Frood went on to say that “Tony is ready to be in the racecar. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t.”

The video of Stewart’s full statement can be viewed on nascar.com. http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/8/29/tony-stewart-statement-atlanta.html

NASCAR president Mike Helton spoke to the media at 2 p.m. ET to reiterate that Stewart had been cleared to race. He also announced that Stewart has been granted a waiver (after missing three races) that will allow him to participate in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, if Stewart can earn a spot by winning one of the next two Sprint Cup races.

Helton did not offer any specifics on the process of clearing Stewart to drive but said, “I refer back to Steve O’Donnell’s release yesterday or statement on behalf of NASCAR that, as you know very clearly by now, we have cleared Tony to return as part of the normal process when a driver has been absent from participating.”

He then addressed the issue of Stewart’s eligibility to participate in the Sprint Cup Playoffs, stating, “As you can imagine, once Tony was cleared to return and he decided to come back, the question goes to his possible eligibility in the Chase. I’ll remind everybody back earlier this year when we announced the format for the ’14 Chase, that announcement included some responsibility about the routine participation in the season in order to be eligible in the Chase.”

“Along with that importance of routine participation also came the asterisk, so to speak, about, except in rare instances,” he continued. “This has been a very unique set of circumstances to Tony and to our sport. As the league, it’s our responsibility to try to make decisions that are correct and right. Sometimes we evaluate circumstances that are given us and then make those decisions as correctly as we can.”

Helton concluded by saying that, “This was a very challenging, a very unique situation. I think the earlier press conference with Tony’s statement that he read was evidence of how overwhelming these set of circumstances have been. I think particularly those of us that follow this sport every weekend know that driver’s healing processes are unique, but they are racecar drivers, and a lot of times getting back in a racecar is something they shoot to do as quickly as they can.”

August 29, 2014
Freaky Fast, Again: Kevin Harvick Scores Oral-B USA 500 Pole at Atlanta

On the back bumper of Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, it says ‘freaky fast’. Those words played true for the sixth time this year as Harvick scored his sixth pole of the season in qualifying for the Oral-B USA 500. Harvick would post a lap of 29.118 seconds for his 12th career pole, and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“It’s good to have the boss back,” Harvick said, in referring to Tony Stewart’s return. “He told me to go with what I knew from practice and switched my line in one and two and was a lot better. Got to thank SHR for a good car today. Seems like things are back to normal with Tony back today so hopefully we can go out and get the W.”

Brad Keselowski will start alongside Harvick on the front row for his 20th top-10 start of the season as the pair are both looking for their fourth wins of the season.

“Just lacking a little bit,” Keselowski commented. “Really strong in race trim, thought we’d have a shot at qualifying. Another front row start – hopefully we can carry that into a front row finish, a first place finish, on Sunday night.”

Rookie Kyle Larson would qualify third for his eighth top-10 start of the season as he looks to either win, or gain 20 points on Greg Biffle, to get into the Chase for the Championship.

“I’d say our chances here are a little better than Richmond – more suits my driving style than Richmond,” Larson said. “Hoping to have a really good weekend here. Started off good so far in qualifying, third. Got to get a win or hope for bad luck for the 16 – but got to win.”

Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth would both round out the top-five, also looking for their first victories of the season.

“Just hanging on to it,” Newman commented. “The Caterpillar Chevrolet was on the bubble on the first run so just had to have the confidence to step it up. To come from 24th to fourth was a good pick-up for us.”

Martin Truex Jr. would qualify sixth, followed by Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.

“Much better for our Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet,” Kahne said, comparing his car to how he was in practice. “The guys did a good job – was way off in practice in 36th and the guys made the right adjustments. We were real pleased with the progress there so hopefully tomorrow we’ll hit on some things and head in the right direction.”

Carl Edwards will start 11th, followed by Tony Stewart as Stewart makes his return to the track for the first time since the incident with Kevin Ward Jr. earlier this month. Rookie Austin Dillon will start 13th, with Joey Logano in 14th as this marks the first qualifying session outside of a restrictor plate event that Logano has missed the final round. Jamie McMurray qualified 15th, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Michael McDowell would be the only driver to fail to qualify.

Four drivers – Johnson, Earnhardt, Larson and Stewart – had issues getting through pre-qualifying session with relation to the rear camber of their cars.

August 29, 2014
Tony Stewart Will Return to Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Tony Stewart will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 14 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Sunday night’s Oral-B USA 500.

Stewart has missed three NASCAR Sprint Cup races after being involved in the August 9 fatal sprint car accident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in upstate New York that claimed the life of 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr.

The accident occurred after an on track racing incident between Stewart and Ward after which Ward got out of his car, walked onto the track amid the oncoming cars and was struck by Stewart’s car.

The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office is currently conducting an investigation into the accident and no charges have been filed to date.

Stewart issued a brief written statement on August 10 following the accident, stating, “There aren’t words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It’s a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I’ve decided not to participate in today’s race at Watkins Glen. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy.”

He has not spoken publicly since the accident but is scheduled to meet with the media Friday at 1 p,m. ET at the track in Atlanta.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, released the following statement concerning Stewart’s return to racing.

“Tony Stewart has received all necessary clearances required to return to all racing activities, and therefore is eligible to compete this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR has remained in constant contact with his race team, and we will stay very close to this situation as Stewart returns to competition.”

NASCAR President Mike Helton will participate in a media availability in the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. NASCAR will have no further comment until that time.

This availability will be streamed live on www.nascar.com/presspass. A transcript will be available approximately one hour after the availability.

August 28, 2014
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 31 Bank of America 500 – Charlotte Motor Speedway – October 12, 2013

The drivers of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series do not have to travel much further than their back yards to get to the track this week. A hometown race this week, and the only night race of the 2013 Chase for The Sprint Cup for the vast majority of teams this week. There have been 109 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, everyone knows the history that has been made at the track, so I’ll spare the history for some statistics this week.

Jimmie Johnson leads the series with the most Chase race wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with three, but none since his last win at Charlotte in October of 2009. The deepest in the field any eventual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion has finished at the Chase race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was 25th all the way back in 2005 when Tony Stewart won his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, his first with the Chase setup. All but one of the nine Chase races at Charlotte have been won by Chase drivers, and the second starting position has produced more race winners than any other starting position with 17 eventual race winners starting outside the front row. So with these stats so far, we’ve not eliminated any potential race winners.

The one statistic very important to this week’s picks comes in the form of a particular manufacturer’s recent struggles at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Just one Ford driver (who is driving a Toyota now) has won a race at Charlotte in the last 22 Charlotte races, and that was Matt Kenseth in the 2011 Bank of America 500. So one driver in 11 years has been able to put Ford in Victory Lane, which is something to look at this week if you’re making fantasy picks.

The only night race of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, so enjoy not swapping back and forth between your NFL game and NASCAR this week…

Kansas Recap

Not a great week for me last week at Kansas Speedway as I went with the points leader, Matt Kenseth as my winner pick because he was undefeated on the low-banked intermediate tracks this season. He had won at Las Vegas in March, Kansas in April, Kentucky in June, and Chicago in September to open the 2013 Chase. Kenseth’s streak would end last week at Kansas has he was rather quiet for the majority of the race….but extended his streak of 5 straight races where he has led a lap. Kenseth finished 11th, his first finish outside the top 10 in over a month.

My Dark Horse was exactly that, a shot in the dark especially this season. The dark horse aspect was erased when Brad Keselowski qualified fourth and got to the front for 52 laps last week in Kansas. Crew Chief Paul Wolfe’s gamble with fuel would not pan out as the Miller Lite Ford ran out of fuel on lap 224, the gamble cost Keselowski two laps to the leader which he was able to make up one, but would finish 17th when the checkered flag flew.

Charlotte Picks

Winner Pick
There are many folks looking at the No.18 team this week, for one he has won two races on the high banked intermediate tracks this season, in dominating fashion at Texas in April and most recently at Atlanta on Labor Day weekend. The second reason why Rowdy Busch is circled on may fantasy rosters this week is the thought that he is due for a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Cup Series. Rewind to Memorial Day weekend this season…Kyle Busch was leading the Coca-Cola 600, in the middle of lap traffic when Fox Sports’ SkyCam over the frontstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway came crashing to the race surface immediately in front of the No.18 car. The impact of the SkyCam resulted in radiator issues and an engine failure for Kyle who was positioned for his first ever Charlotte career win.

The loop statistics are great for a guy who has never won a race…he’s in the top three in all but one of the loop categories. The only one he is not inside the top three is Green Flag Passes, but Kyle has also qualified well over the years in North Carolina with a couple poles in the points races and an average start of 11.5. The practice sessions today and his win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Friday at Charlotte have added to my case for Kyle Busch on Saturday night. I am seeing a win out of this team on Saturday night and them jumping back into the Championship picture when we head to Talladega next week.

Dark Horse Pick
Martin Truex Jr. is going to be my longer play this week and here is why…Before Kansas last week and the race at Chicagoland to open the Chase, you had to go back all the way to Las Vegas back in March of 2012 for Truex’s last finish outside the top 15 on any of these intermediate track races. The stretch of 15-straight top 15 finishes is enhanced by the fact that he had two finishes outside the top 10 in the same stretch, both of which coming in the 2012 season.

Keep in mind Truex led 142 laps and finished 2nd at Texas back in April, also a 1.5-mile night race. Truex qualified 17th on Thursday, but went out for his qualifying run relatively early to some of the other drivers with similar practice speeds. On Friday, Truex was 3rd fastest in the first practice session and 5th in Happy Hour Friday evening, adding to the consistency we’ve seen all season from Truex on these intermediate tracks. He would like nothing more than to win one of these Chase races, so I’m throwing out the couple poor finishes in a row at Chicago and Kansas and going with Truex as a solid longer play this week.

That’s all for this week, so until we head to the biggest juggernaut of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

October 12, 2013
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 26 Federated Auto Parts 400 – Richmond International Raceway – September 7, 3013

The cliché holds true this week as “it all comes down to this”. Six guys have already claimed their top-10 spots when The Chase begins next week at Chicago – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth…that’s 2 Chevy’s, a Ford, and 3 Toyotas in case you’re keeping score.

Seventh-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. faces the least pressure among non-qualifiers, needing only a finish of 32nd or better in the 400-lap race on Saturday night to enter the postseason. Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch complete the provisional top 10 – 16, 14 and six points ahead of 11th-place Jeff Gordon who is still in the hunt for a top-10 spot going into the chase, as he stands no chance at making a Wild Card without a win on Saturday Night.

Logano and Biffle each have a single victory giving them some Chase insurance as potential Wild Cards, but both have to turn around their historical finishes at Richmond to ensure they’re racing for a championship the next ten weeks.

Former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon, however, both are without victories on the season and need to have solid finishes, along with poor finishes from other drivers to punch their tickets to the big dance starting next week at Chicagoland. Both have done what they need to do to lead a lap on Saturday by qualifying their Chevy’s on the front row, so it will be interesting to see if they can spoil a few Chase hopefuls by winning on Saturday Night. This Race is shaping up to be even more exciting than I expected with 3 Wild Card hopefuls staring in the top 3 spots on Saturday Night.

Two-time 2013 race-winner Kasey Kahne (12th) and Sonoma winner, Martin Truex Jr. (13th) hold the provisional Wild Cards as the points run right now.

Five drivers have clinched Chase berths on the final night of the regular season since the start of The Chase for the Sprint Cup began in 2004. Ryan Newman’s sixth-place finish in 2005 is the best among the “last in” drivers. Brian Vickers (2009), Kasey Kahne (2006) and Jeremy Mayfield (2004) also were final-race qualifiers. Most recently, Jeff Gordon waited until the final race of the season to solidify his spot in the chase by finishing second in this race last season, so this parody is nothing we’ve not seen before….but we’ve NEVER seen this many drivers on the fence for The Chase. The backstretch wall at Richmond has never seen as many car numbers in yellow (meaning the driver has NOT clinched a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs) as are painted in yellow this season, so for anyone whose never watched a NASCAR race before, Saturday Night is the one to watch.

I will save my words this week and not recap my poor picks last week at Atlanta and roll right into my picks for Saturday Night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 (even though my Dark Horse Pick last week finished 3rd with a broken wrist).

Winner Pick

Richmond has been Clint Bowyer’s best track over his career, and to no surprise, he’s been the best driver statistically over the past 5 races at Richmond.

Clint has finished outside the top 12 just twice in 15 races at Richmond – averaging a finish of 9th in the meantime. Bowyer is one of just 3 drivers averaging a top-10 finish at Richmond, behind Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin for third on the best average finish at the 3/4 mile short track. He’s got a couple wins, most recently and notably his win in THIS race last season. In the loop stats, Bowyer is 4th in Average Running position, Driver Rating and Quality Passes, and he’s 5th in 2 more of the 6 loop stats, Average Green Flag Speed and Laps in the Top 15.

Clint Bowyer holds the record for the deepest in the field ANY Richmond race-winner has started, that was his win from the 31st starting position back in 2008, and throw in the fact that he’s starting 4th on Saturday Night, Bowyer is still my top guy this week. Keep in mind, he led 113 laps and finished 2nd in the April race at Richmond…

Dark Horse Pick

I was on the fence on Thursday as I previewed the race with Greg on The Prime Sports Network, but after practice and qualifying, I’m a bit more confident with my selection do go with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as my Dark Horse guy this week.

He was 7th in first practice and 3rd in Happy Hour earlier today at Richmond International Raceway, and probably took a conservative approach to his qualifying lap today as a 32nd or better finish will punch Jr.’s ticket to the big dance next week.

Richmond actually ranks as Jr.’s 4th best track over his career with the other two short tracks ranking first (Bristol) and third (Martinsville), much to my surprise as everybody knows the Earnhardt’s for their restrictor-plate racing.

Jr. has 3 career wins at Richmond, granted none since 2006 but in the loop stats he ranks anywhere from 6th in Fastest Laps Run to 13th in

Driver Rating.

Dale Jr. would certainly like to have those 3 bonus points to start The Chase, so I think we’re looking at him staying out of trouble early, then a march to the front during the closing laps on Saturday Night.

That’s all for this week, enjoy the race and the hunt for The Chase and be sure to tune in Monday to the Prime Sports Network (www.primesportsnetwork.com) as Greg and all the folks from SpeedwayMedia.com preview the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup! And as always….You Stay Classy NASCAR (and Dale Earnhardt Jr.) NATION!

September 7, 2013
Goodyear Pronounces New Tire Success at Atlanta and Ready for Kansas

This past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Goodyear, the official tire of NASCAR, debuted a new tire technology utilizing multi-zone tread technology.

And after several tests, as well as during the race with multiple green flag stops with no major issues, Goodyear has pronounced their new tire good.

“Without question, the debut of our multi-zone tread technology at Atlanta was a success,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s Director of Racing, said. “The right-side tire, with the firmer, heat resistant compound on the inboard portion of the tire, and the more tractive compound on the outboard, enabled the cars to put on great races in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.”

“Certainly this confirms our plan to utilize this technology for the October ace weekend in Kansas, and actively evaluate its application at other tracks.”

“I would agree that the new tire debut at Atlanta was a complete success,” Justin Fantozzi, Marketing Manager for Global Race Tires for Goodyear, said. “Folks here are very proud of the result.”

While the technology is certainly different, the process of development for the new tire was different as well. With this new tire technology, the concept came from the passenger vehicle side to the racing venue, which is opposite of how most tire advances take place.

“Normally, it is track to street but this was one of the technologies that was street to track,” Fantozzi said. “This technology was used in our triple tread passenger tires for dry, rain and snow.”

“So, for the racing tires, the idea was to balance durability and heat versus grip and traction whereas on a consumer tire, it is all about the weather balance.”

“Since we don’t race in the rain, we had to balance the durability and heat instead.”

One of the other challenges for the new tire was to ensure that the zones where positioned where they needed to be.

“You have to be very diligent that the zones go where you need them to go,” Fantozzi said. “But for us, that’s very simple because the yellow letters are only on one side of the tire and they are always facing out.”

“So, we know exactly which zone has the firmer compound on it and which zone has the more tractive compound.”

What most fans may not realize is that the development of this particular new tire technology has been two years in the making for Goodyear.

“There isn’t a call center or an 800 number that the crew chiefs and drivers call to get to a customer service representative for the tires,” Fantozzi said. “We actually send our development team to the race track.”

“There is a one-to-one relationship so that if someone has an issue at the race track, we get the feedback as we develop the tire,” Fantozzi continued. “At the same time, there are folks who don’t travel that are working on developing the new technology.”

“So, that’s how it all started.”

After the Goodyear scientists worked their magic in the lab, the tire actually was tested not just once but twice before showing up at Atlanta.

“We brought it to the race track in a couple of tests,” Fantozzi said. “The first test was the development test, which was about 65 days ago.”

“And then we felt that a change was enough that each and every team needed to feel it,” Fantozzi continued. “So, we went back to Atlanta with a confirmation test thirty days before the event.”

“At the development test, we had one of each of the manufacturers there and at the confirmation test, we invited one of each one of the teams,” Fantozzi said. “So, we had 13 vehicles at the confirmation test.”

“Then we were ready to take it to the track,” Fantozzi continued. “We had three fuel stops at Atlanta with no issues so everybody was pretty proud of that and we’ll continue the cadence on the development side and see where else the technology can fit and become a solution at the race track.”

Goodyear also had the challenge of not only developing their new tire technology but also melding that into the new Gen 6 race car. And while Goodyear had to balance speed and safety, they also had to deal with a new challenge, heat.

“The other part of it that we’ve seen with the new car is the heat,” Fantozzi said. ”And it doesn’t come in the traditional sense that the faster you go, the more heat you have.”

“We’re seeing a lot of the heat not only in compartment where the tires are but in the race car itself,” Fantozzi continued. “So, the crew chiefs are balancing off the heat as well.”

“That’s probably the biggest change with the car,” Fantozzi said. “It is different from a dynamic standpoint when the tires are able to seal off and there is no air flow through the tire compartment or in the car because that’s where the challenge comes.”

Surprisingly, Goodyear did not have to bring extra personnel to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to assist with the new tire. But for Goodyear, they always come with an extensive cadre of staff and engineers, ready to assist with any and all tire issues that may occur.

“We had a couple more engineers on site at Atlanta than we would normally have but not extreme,” Fantozzi said. “I think we had just one or two more folks.”

“Because of the cadence we keep every weekend, with the mounters, changers and engineers and those on the business side of it, there can be sixty folks on the ground carrying the Goodyear banner,” Fantozzi continued. “So, we didn’t need to bring too many more folks.”

“One of the guys that doesn’t travel but has worked eighteen or twenty-four months on the tire wanted to see it, so he came,” Fantozzi said. “It’s those type of folks who joined us in Atlanta.”

While there were no doubt a few Goodyear nerves on pit road, all was dispelled after the race got underway.

“You can test as much as you want to but at Atlanta, when we got through the first set of green flag stops, the confidence level went up with the assurance that what we had brought to the race track was proven,” Fantozzi said. “We were very, very happy with that first green flag run and then we ended up having another set and a third and that just led to even more confirmation.”

“We have pride in what we bring to the race track.”

Although Goodyear pronounced the new tire good, there were plenty of drivers and crew chiefs who concurred as well.

“I think Goodyear did a good job there from my perspective,” Dave Rogers, winning Atlanta crew chief, said.

“It ran pretty good for me,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Penske Ford, said. “Every time we had a pit stop Todd (Gordon, crew chief) came on the radio and said that the tires look good.”

“It seemed like it was a pretty solid tire,” Logano continued. “It hung in strong and I thought it put on a good race.”

Goodyear confirmed that it will next race the special zone-tread tires at Kansas Speedway.

“We waited until after we got confirmation in Atlanta that the concept was valid,” Fantozzi said. “And so we’ll have a multi-zone tire, a different one, for the Kansas fall race.”

“And that is in the cadence of development for 2014 and we have to get to the race track to get that balance and then see where else it will fit into the race events.”

September 5, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Advocare 500

In one of the closest races to the Chase, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 54^th running of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Surprising: While many drivers felt that the Atlanta race would be critical, Kyle Busch surprisingly found his race win to be positively pivotal after clinching a spot in the coveted Chase.

“Well, it started a little ugly,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said. “I was a little ill on the radio, I’m sure, but I can’t say enough about Dave Rogers (crew chief) right here and the team that he’s assembled around us.”

“I think if you can pin a championship night on one race, I think tonight was the night,” Busch continued. “We certainly had a lot to do and a lot to overcome, and I think that Dave and these guys stuck with me.”

“For as bad as I may have been talking, they certainly never gave up,” Busch said. “The Lord was with us and blessed us today with a great night.”

This was Busch’s 38^th win in 318 Cup Series races, his fourth victory of the season and his second checkered flag at Atlanta. This was also the 250^th win for Toyota and the 100^th win for Kyle Busch in a Toyota across the three national series.

Not Surprising: There were two very disappointed drivers following closely on the heels of race winner Kyle Busch.

And although they disagreed on a few issues post-race, they did agree on two things, that they were disappointed with the finish and that they had to overcome adversity, one with a pit road problem and the other related to his fractured wrist.

“We’re both mad because we didn’t win,” Truex Jr. said after finishing third in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said.

“Yeah, we both agree that sucks,” Logano, who finished second behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said.

“We overcame a loose wheel early in the race and cycled ourselves back to the lead after all of that,” Logano said. “I just needed 30 laps of green flag to get all the way up there to the front.”

“The cast just inside my hand here got all soft,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “I think maybe it’s just gotten wet from sweat or something and softened up, so we’ll have to look into that.”

Surprising: There were some angry drivers after the race at Atlanta, which surprisingly occurred at this mile and a half track instead of a short track.

Denny Hamlin was one angry bird, from altercations with other drivers to anger at NASCAR. Four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards were also at odds with one another after some hard racing and contact.

“Our night was ruined because of a penalty putting us two laps down that we couldn’t overcome,” Hamlin, who finished 38^th in his No. 11 SportClips Toyota, said. “We got wrecked by the No. 27 (Paul Menard), blew the tire, blew the fender off and blew another engine.”

Hamlin was also angry with his teammate Kyle Busch, at one point hollering over his radio ““Tell Kyle if he would f****** let me go, he’d learn how to drive this track and not be an idiot.”

“We’re just getting kicked in the nuts every weekend by something and I just can’t catch a break,” Hamlin said after the race.

Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards also had their angry moments, both during and after the race.

“He just slide-jobbed me and I thought it was really out of character for him and I didn’t understand what was going on there,” Edwards said, after finishing 18^th in his No. 99 Subway Ford. “I did everything I could not to wreck us both.”

“I’ve never seen him drive me like that,” Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said of his battle with Edwards. “It was pretty wild.”

“He didn’t like that I slid him early in the race,” Gordon, who finished sixth to keep his Chase hopes alive, continued. “We went into (Turn) 1 and he took my line away to keep me behind him and I was a lot better than him and I just dove inside.”

“I came up a little bit too short on him,” Gordon said. “And that was my fault.”

“But he decided he was going to give me back, I guess, and he did all night,” Gordon continued. “I tried to have a regular conversation and that didn’t seem to be possible with him.”

“We don’t agree on what happened and finally he got frustrated enough with the conversation that he just walked away,” Edwards said of Gordon. “That might have been smart.”

Not Surprising: Even though he has signed with another race team for 2014, Kurt Busch not surprisingly continues to impress. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Beautyrest Chevrolet motored from tenth to second on one of the restarts, and went on to finish the race in fourth, climbing into the tenth spot in the Chase standings.

“I noticed the 78 and I was like okay, they’re having a decent day,” Kyle Busch said of brother Kurt. “Then he was in my mirror and I’m like did everybody wreck?”

“The kid was wheeling it, I guess,” Kyle Busch continued. “That was pretty impressive.”

Brother Kurt Busch agreed, saying simply, “I can’t tell you what I did right, but it all went right.”

Surprising: For the third week in a row, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson struggled and at one point during the race had even lost the points lead.

Johnson was involved in the first true caution, following the competition yellow, when the field stacked up on a restart, collecting teammate Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin in addition to himself.

The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Dover White Chevrolet next hit the tire carcass from the Paul Menard vehicle, sustaining further damage, and went on later in the race to spin out.

Although Johnson finished 28^th, he still managed to hold serve over Clint Bowyer in the point standings by 28, ironically the same number of points as his finishing order.

Not Surprising: Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing not surprisingly decided that he would just go have an adult beverage after his experimental engine expired, resulting in a 39^th place finish.

“Well, it certainly sucks,” Bowyer said. “That was a super big bummer right there.”

“I wanted to go for the win,” Bowyer continued. “It was ours to lose and we found a way to lose.”

“I’m going to go have a beer.”

Surprising: Kevin Harvick, was surprisingly conflicted, happy with securing his role in the Chase, but not so happy with his race car.

“Obviously we’re happy to be in the Chase, but our day wasn’t very good,” the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet said. “Our car was just terribly tight all night long and drove nothing like it did in practice.”

We’ll work on that.”

Not Surprising: Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth, he was most grateful to leave Atlanta in one piece and in good Chase contention, hanging tough in the seventh spot in the point standings.

““I was real thankful the car was as good as it was,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Race2Achieve.org Chevrolet said. “We have struggled here and not ran great here the last several trips.”

“All in all I’m real pleased with the way the car performed and the job the guys did.”

Surprising: After finding out this week that he would no longer be driving for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in NASCAR, being replaced by young up and coming driver Kyle Larson, Juan Pablo Montoya has surprisingly been reacting like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

Montoya’s performance has also picked up since then as well, demonstrated by his seventh place finish at Atlanta in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

“It was a good night,” Montoya said. “The guys made great changes and the car was good at the end.”

“Happy that we were able to bring home another top-10 finish for Target tonight.”

Not Surprising: So often, the outcome of any race is outside the control of the man or woman behind the wheel. So, not surprisingly after engine troubles, reigning champ Brad Keselowski felt out of control, especially regarding his chances to make the Chase.

“Some things you can’t control and this was one of those days,” Keselowski said after finishing 35^th in his Blue Deuce. “It just broke.”

“There’s only so much you can control,” Keselowski continued glumly. “Maybe this was control, and maybe it wasn’t.”

“I don’t know until the guys take (the engine) apart and look at it.”

September 2, 2013
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 25 Advocare 500 – Atlanta Motor Speedway – September 1, 2013

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to a fast, wide track this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with the two twins in the series to Atlanta being Charlotte and Texas with the familiar 24 degrees of banking in the corners and 5 degrees on the straightaway’s.

It is fast, but it’s really known for producing some of the closest finishes in NASCAR History, including that first career win for Kevin Harvick over Jeff Gordon just a couple weeks after Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001. That famous finish, 0.006 of a second margin of victory between the two Chevy’s.

The Advocare 500 is a long race, 325 laps totaling 501 miles and there have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta since the first race there in 1960 so a ton of data to pull from this week to make my picks.

As far as qualifying goes this week, for once we’re not looking at the pole as being the most proficient starting position like most other circuits we visit each year. Believe it or not the 5th starting position has produced more Atlanta winners than any other starting position spot at 15 race-winners all-time starting from that 5th spot.

26 of the 105 races all-time have been won from the front row, 60 of the 105 have been won from the top 5 starting spots, and 83 of the 105 races ever at Atlanta Motor Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position. Making a good lap yesterday in qualifying is very important, even more so recently with 19 of the last 20 races, the last 16 in a row, have been won from the top 11 starting spots.

Atlanta Picks

On Thursday when I previewed Sunday’s Advocare 500 with Greg on the Prime Sports Network, my picks were spread among 6 drivers, but have now been pared down to a winner pick and a dark horse based on the results of qualifying. A few guys I had picked to take home the crown on Sunday night could not put it all together Friday evening to start in those coveted top 10 starting spots, so I’ve scratched them off the list.
Two-time Atlanta winner and seven-time winner on the three twins (Atlanta, Charlotte, and Texas), Kasey Kahne split my number two spot on Thursday with the 2001 Spring Atlanta winner mentioned previously, Kevin Harvick. Well, both of which have qualified outside the top-10 spots, Kahne in 18th and Harvick in 30th so I’ve scratched those guys off my list this week.

As for my 4th pick, Brian Vickers, he came out and qualified 22nd so again, can’t go with him this week.

That leaves 3 guys from my preview Thursday with Greg that I still like for wins this week at Atlanta.

Winner Pick

This is a pick which I felt confident in on Thursday and solidified my confidence in him by qualifying 10th on Friday. Jimmie Johnson was the last guy to sweep the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta in 2007 which notched his second and third wins at the Hampton, Ga racetrack. It is really tough to not like Jimmie’s numbers at Atlanta because he leads the series in Average finish at 11.0, Average Running Position, Driver Rating at 108.3, Average Green Flag Speed, and Laps inside the top 15, so that’s 4 of the 6 loop categories, the other two, Fastest Laps and Quality Passes, Johnson second in both.

Here are my thoughts on Jimmie Johnson’s mentality going into this weekend’s Advocare 500. Matt Kenseth won last week at Bristol, so now Jimmie Johnson is not the top dog in the Chase anymore, so he’s got something to shoot for. I can’t go against the outstanding numbers this week, I have to go with Jimmie as my Winner and Top pick this week.

Dark Horse Pick

I had a few guys on Thursday who would have qualified as Dark Horses to win on Sunday. We’ve thrown Vickers out, so that still leaves two more picks which I consider solid sleeper picks this week.

The first is the guy sitting on the pole this weekend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He won the Nationwide series race here last season and finished 3rd in his rookie Nationwide season in 2011. He has never raced at Atlanta in the Cup series so not much to go off except what he’s done at Texas and Charlotte so far this season. He finished 40th at Texas so we’ll throw that out, but in Speedweeks in Charlotte, he finished 2nd in the NASCAR Sprint Showdown, qualifying for the All-Star race and hung around the big boys for a 16th place finish. In the longest race of the year, Stenhouse managed to stay out of trouble and finish 14th after starting 30th, so I like that he’s put his Ford on the front row for tomorrow night’s race.

The other guy I had penciled in for a Dark Horse win was Martin Truex Jr., broken wrist and all. Truex has managed to qualify his Toyota in 7th, a solid spot considering last year’s race-winner started from the 7th position.

Truex has gotten progressively better since his first 2 starts at Atlanta where he finished 40th and 37th and the last 3 races have shown a bit of hope for Truex at Atlanta as he was 4th last season after starting 28th.

What I like about Truex this week is that he’s finished 9th or better in all the Intermediate Tri-Ovals this season, (including Kansas and Las Vegas) most notably his runner up finish he had at Texas back in April when he led 142 laps. Truex is showing a bit more promise not only at Atlanta recently but this year on the tri-ovals, he is going to split my Dark Horse pick this week with Rick Stenhouse Jr.

That’s all for this week, and be sure to stay tuned the next couple weeks as we roll on to the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, so until we head to the last regular-season race of the year…..You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

August 31, 2013