Tradition. On Sunday, we learned that tradition means something. We learned it is actually worth waiting for its return, though why it took NASCAR a decade to solve the hot, muggy conditions of a day race in early September by simply moving it to the evening still boggles the mind. The Southern 500 was back, back to where and when it belonged, along with throwback paint schemes and other nods to the past. Tradition.
We learned that Ken Squier should be cloned. He is to auto racing what Vin Scully is to baseball, a poet with a microphone who has the gift to paint vivid pictures through prose, to enhance the action we see with our own eyes, to allow us to commune with the best of the sport’s past even as we watch its future unfold before us. One is an 80-year-old legend who we got to hear from again on Sunday night, the other is an 87-year old Dodger icon. We learned that sometimes the best of what is has been with us all along. Tradition.
Jeff Gordon, for one. Seven times he managed to not just survive but to thrive on the track too tough to tame over the course of his career. He finished 16th on Sunday in his event curtain call. Jimmie Johnson, a six-time Cup king and three-time Darlington winner, was 19th. These two eventual Hall of Famers were seen last weekend in the company as such past stars as Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Bill Elliott. Terry Labonte was the Grand Marshal. Ned Jarrett was put to work in the broadcast booth, alongside his son Dale. Tradition.
We learned that even though it is possible for 26 drivers to win a race from Daytona in February to Richmond later this month, it seems improbable. Only 11 different pilots have shaken the suds in Victory Lane this season, with the last first-time victor coming in the form of Martin Truex Jr. three months ago. For the second time this season it was Carl Edwards doing the backflip at the finish line, his first at Darlington’s Lady in Black. Once again, the same 16 drivers sitting in a Chase place coming in will be the same when they hit the line at Richmond next Saturday night.
Racing began in Darlington in 1950. Three years later, the Richmond tradition got its start. Potential winless Chasers have won there, including Gordon, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer. Drivers such as Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne have claimed the prize before, and their only route to the Chase is to do it again this Saturday night. Of the quintet, though, only Bowyer has done so in the past decade. In fact, 19 of the other past 20 Richmond winners have already punched their tickets for this season’s Chase. Unless there is a break in tradition, the 20th should as well.
The 20 Richmond race winners over the past ten years include…
Kyle Busch (4) Jimmie Johnson (3) Kevin Harvick (3) Denny Hamlin (2) Kurt Busch (2) Clint Bowyer (2) Brad Keselowski Carl Edwards Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joey Logano
Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads to Pocono Raceway with winning on his mind. Last year he swept both NASCAR Sprint Cup events at the 2.5-mile track, becoming only the seventh driver in track history to accomplish this feat. The stakes are even higher this weekend as he attempts to capture a third straight victory. Only two drivers have won three consecutive races at Pocono; Bobby Allison (1982 – 83) and Tim Richmond (1986-87).
Earnhardt has an average finish of 2.5 over the last four races at Pocono and is hopeful that trend will continue Sunday in the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400.
“It seems like guys that run well at Pocono can sustain it. I’ve seen guys sweep there and we were able to do it last year. I like the track, and we have run well there since the repave. I anticipate us being competitive again and hopefully getting three in a row,” Earnhardt said.
If you consider Hendrick Motorsports’’ record at Pocono, Earnhardt has even more reason to be confident, although one of the most significant threats to a three-peat may come from within the organization.
Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers have won the last five races at Pocono and their 17 victories at the track are the most of any team. Seven different drivers have won for HMS including Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte, Gordon, Kahne, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt has seven top-five finishes this season, one win at Talladega and is currently ranked fifth in the point standings. However, the revamped No. 88 team, with new crew chief Greg Ives, has struggled with inconsistency. Last week at Dover Earnhardt had to start from the rear after replacing a broken gear. He was able to move up through the field, but a penalty for speeding on pit road resulted in a disappointing 14th place finish.
This weekend at Pocono, Earnhardt’s greatest challenge will be putting last week’s mistakes behind him. A focused driver, crew chief and pit crew could be all that stands between him, his second victory of the season and that coveted three-peat.
It could also be the beginning of another sweep and the opportunity to add his name to the record books. No driver has ever swept Pocono twice, but Earnhardt will have some competition as Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin compete with him to be the first to do so.
The distance run and the sponsors may have changed, but for thirty years the gateway to summer race at Daytona was known as the Firecracker 400 (250 for its first four runs). It might not be as big as the 500 or have the glamour of the Southern 500, but winning this one means something. Its name should mean something as well.
This was a race won five times by David Pearson. Four times by Cale Yarborough. Multiple winners included Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and A.J. Foyt long before NASCAR and the race track (pretty much one and the same) sold out to Pepsi. They dropped the Firecracker brand and then, less than 20 years later, we discovered why it is so stupid to re-brand a race to please a sponsor. Pepsi was gone, Coca Cola replaced it, and now we have the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola. What bovine excrement that is, and I’m drinking a damn Diet Coke as I type this. Love the taste but I wonder how much it would take me to sell out to become Coke Zero Thornton, Esq., powered by Coca-Cola.
Then again, unless my wife or my mother gets paid off, I am guessing they would continue calling me by the name they have always done so. As Coke has not paid me a dime, forgive me for being a traditionalist. The Firecracker 400 it is.
I do not mind change if it betters tradition. I think points earned over an entire season still best recognizes the best over the course of that season, not through a contrived playoff. I think wins should be worth more than they are, like 70 points instead of a maximum of 48. I think this Saturday night’s Coke Zero Firecracker 400 will be one hell of a good race to watch. I think someone working for Rick Hendrick is going to win it. As that is what has happened over the past three events raced there, I see no reason to think it is going to change this weekend.
Yes, I guess tradition can be a bit of a pain sometimes, especially if you happen to be driving a Ford or a Toyota this Saturday night at Daytona.
(Based on points, with winners awarded 25 bonus points, rather than 3)
On what has become a Mother’s day weekend tradition at the historic Darlington Raceway, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 64th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500.
Surprising: While bad news often comes in threes, Matt Kenseth had the opposite experience, with only good news in threes for this Joe Gibbs Racing team member. Kenseth scored his third Sprint Cup win of the season and advanced one spot to third in the point standings.
Not only was it a stellar evening for JGR with Kenseth in Victory Lane, but teammate Denny Hamlin gutted out a surprisingly good full-race performance after returning from his back injury. Hamlin finished in the runner up position, scoring his seventh top-10 at Darlington and his second top-10 finish for the season.
“I think our whole team, we’ve just got a great team from top to bottom,” J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “Gosh, I couldn’t feel much better about our year so far.”
Not Surprising: For the other member of the Joe Gibbs Race team, however, three times was nowhere near a charm. JGR driver Kyle Busch, who was the dominant driver all evening long, in fact leading 265 laps, tussled with competitor Kasey Kahne for the third time this season to finish a disappointing sixth in the race.
“He’s pretty tore up that they’re racing hard and Kasey Kahne tore up another car,” Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota, said. “This is the third time we’ve been involved in an incident with Kasey and all of us over here have a ton of respect for that program.”
“Well, he needs to quit,” Kasey Kahne, recipient of the three incidents with Busch, said simply. “Three times this year. I mean he’s got to just race me.”
Surprising: While enjoying a much celebrated 700th career start, Jeff Gordon, at the tender age of 41 years, also managed to set yet another record. Gordon posted his 300th top-five finish, becoming only the fourth driver to accomplish this feat, along with NASCAR legends David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty.
“Well, we all wanted this 700th start to be a memorable one,” the driver of the No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevrolet said. “I’m very proud of this.”
Not Surprising: As so often happens, David Ragan experienced the highs and lows of the sport, from his previous week’s win at Talladega to overheating and struggling to finish 39th at Darlington at this weekend’s race.
“Yeah, that’s how it goes sometimes,” the driver of the No. 34 Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts Ford said. “That’s a character-building weekend for sure.”
“You’ve just got to work hard and stay focused and keep the right attitude.”
Surprising: In spite of decent race finishes for two of the Roush Fenway drivers, with Carl Edwards taking the checkered flag in seventh and Greg Biffle in 13th, both expressed the feeling that they are lacking something so far this season.
“We struggled a lot and ended coming back to seventh so I’m proud of our effort,” Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Geek Squad Ford, said. “But we’re just missing something.”
“It’s a little disappointing,” Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Meguiar’s Ford, said. “We still don’t have the grip that we need.”
“We’re missing it ever since the season started with this car.”
Not Surprising: All good things must come to an end and so it was not surprising that Aric Almirola’s streak of top-tens came crashing down at Darlington. The driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford finished 20th at the track ‘Too Tough to Tame.’
“That’s not the result we wanted at all,” Almirola said. “We fought hard, but just weren’t quite good enough.”
“That was a tough night.”
Surprising: The struggles of Tony Stewart surprisingly continued at Darlington and the trip to Victory Lane that he so badly wanted at a track where he had never won eluded the former champion yet again.
Stewart was poised to get a good finish, in fact starting eighth on a restart with under 60 laps to go. But the Lady reached out and grabbed the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, putting that old Darlington stripe right down the side of his race car.
Stewart finished a disappointing 15th when the checkered flag finally flew.
“Darlington is such a tough track to get a handle on,” Stewart said. “You don’t see a lot of guys who have a lot of success there.”
Not Surprising: In spite of scoring a pole run, with a track record to boot, and a record number of laps led for his team, Kurt Busch still did not get the finish he wanted at Darlington.
The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet ran strong all night but slipped at the end after getting hit by the No. 13 of Casey Mears. Busch finished 14th in the Bojangles’ Southern 500.
“We could not keep up with the changing conditions of the track,” Busch said. “We made a number of chassis and air pressure adjustments but couldn’t get the car hooked up.”
“We let it slip away and that’s disappointing,” Busch continued. “But we won the pole, led laps, ran up front for a good portion of the race and came away with a respectable finish.”
Surprising: Penske Racing had a surprisingly bad day, especially for reigning champ Brad Keselowski, who had never finished outside the top 15 in his four starts at Darlington. The driver of the Blue Deuce was caught up in an accident and finished 32nd.
While teammate Joey Logano has had an admittedly up and down relationship with the track, with two top-10 finishes and two finishes outside the top-25, he struggled as well. The driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford finished in the same position as his car number, 22nd.
Not Surprising: Although the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Emerald Green Chevrolet admitted that the track is tough, his love affair with Darlington continued, especially after scoring another top-five finish. Johnson now leads the point standings by more than a full race worth.
“It was just a great 500 miles here at Darlington,” Jimmie Johnson said. “I love this place.”
“I wish we could race here three or four times a year.”
Surprising: It was a bit surprising that there were just enough cars at Darlington for a full 43 car field. For the first time in quite a long time, no one was sent home unhappy after qualifying for this Southern 500.
Not Surprising: Juan Pablo Montoya’s focus on execution continued at the ‘Lady in Black’. He and his No. 42 Target Chevrolet team had a great run, finishing eighth.
“Well, we didn’t unload as good as we wanted, but we got it really good,” Montoya said. “I keep telling the guys we have got to execute.”
“If every person here does their best, we are going to be looking like heroes here.”
As NASCAR readies to kick off the 2013 season with the Great American Race at Daytona, one common man, Ken Squier, will be ready to once again have an uncommon influence on the sport.
Squier, a Vermont native, has had a lengthy history of covering the sport that he has grown to love and influence. In fact, he started his broadcasting career at the tender age of 14 years.
“I hitchhiked to the track because I didn’t want my parents to know,” Squier said of his first announcing gig. “I think I got $5 for it.”
“They had taken a bull dozer around the field a couple of times and called it a race track,” Squier continued. “It was the north against the south at that time in Vermont and it was a war.”
“The public address system was on a logging truck,” Squier said. “It got so bad that me and another kid hid under the truck until the fights were under control.”
As with many in the sport, Squier came by his love of racing naturally, tagging along with his father who was a harness racing announcer. And thanks to those travels, he got his first exposure to stock car racing.
“My dad was a harness race announcer so I knew I had to be a part of racing somehow, someway,” Squier said. “We used to go to country fairs and one afternoon lasted about five years.”
“It was awful,” Squier continued. “However, on the weekend, you could blast through those awful days because they had the Hell Drivers and the open wheel, open cockpit cars.”
“This was no children’s game,” Squier said. “It was the real deal.”
“We would see on a Saturday or Sunday American Automobile Association races,” Squier continued. “I actually saw the original Joie Chitwood and all the others.”
“My hero when I was a kid was Ted Horn from California.”
From then on, Squier was hooked on this intriguing sport of automobile racing, so much so that he was involved with the founding of the Motor Racing Network, where we served as a commentator from 1969 to 1978.
“The first office for Motor Racing Network was a Pepsi cooler with a glass top folded back and forth out in the hall,” Squier said. “They gave us a phone and said get your ass busy and find some radio stations to carry this race.”
He then took on a role with CBS Sports, again telling the stories of the racers he so admired, as well as covering other sports, including boxing and even frog jumping and hollering contests. In fact, Squier was part of the debut of the NASCAR broadcast for the 1979 Daytona 500 and would be part of many Great American races from that time forward.
“I wore my CBS necktie every Daytona 500,” Squier said. “I paid $5 and selected it because whatever you spilled on it, no one could see.”
And of course, Squier would be part of that one special CBS Daytona 500 broadcast, capturing the infamous fight between the Allison brothers and Cale Yarborough, which was not only seen around the world but which catapulted the sport of stock car racing to the level that it is today.
“The show was over and the Goodyear blimp was headed back to the airport,” Squier said of that incredible Daytona 500 finish. “We were just fussing around and the producer said, “Take a look at this.”
“Capturing that brawl was just one of those moments,” Squier continued. “Everything fell into place that day and all fit together.”
Squier was also part of another historic moment, bringing the innovation of an in-car camera to the sport of stock car racing.
“I was in Australia and the people providing the in-car equipment invited me to see Bathurst which was their Indy 500 at the time,” Squier said. “I was in the truck and sure enough the thing goes on and the course was like a Christmas tree, up one side and down the other.”
“It was just remarkable to see the cameras focused on the drivers,” Squier continued. “When they came down the mountain, there was a straightaway and the race is on and the racer is providing commentary right from the track.”
“I said to myself, I just think I found what we need to do in the Daytona 500.”
Cale Yarborough carried that first in car camera in a Daytona 500, sharing his insights right from the cockpit of his race car. And he went on to win the race as well.
Patty Wheeler, Humpy Wheeler’s daughter, recognized other accomplishments of her good friend and mentor Ken Squier.
“There were other innovations like the Hollywood Hotel on Fox, which was conceived by Squier in the early 1980s as the STP Pit Communication Center,” Wheeler noted. “He started the first ever television production company and launched the first ever weekly motorsports show called Motor Week Illustrated.”
“You remember that 5:35 on Friday afternoons was must-see TV to find out about racing,” Wheeler continued. “And it even led into live wrestling.”
“One of Squier’s great legacies was Motorsports University,” Wheeler said. “When you look at the people on the air, most got their first shot or their big break from Squier.”
“We all owe him a great deal of gratitude for that.”
“What Squier did for motorsports was what Howard Cosell did for boxing,” Wheeler said. “He introduced a broad American public to the sport he loved and showcased it in a way that made everyone else love it with him.”
In addition to his broadcasting prowess, what intrigued Squier most were these racers, these gutsy risk takers, who gave their all both on and off the track.
“This was not a children’s game played by adults,” Squier said. “These were men that were so committed and believed so wholly in what they did that they were willing to take the risk.”
“If one fell, the greatest tribute was to be there the next week to race in their honor,” Squier continued. “It was the kind of sport where those people who took those chances understood that.”
“You could trust them,” Squier said of the NASCAR racers. “They could be wild, but when the chips were down you didn’t have to worry that your children were going to take on a hero that was stuffing something up their nose.”
“That didn’t play in NASCAR,” Squier continued. “It was a different world and still is today.”
“These were common people doing uncommon deeds,” Squier said. “It was Bud Moore in World War II over in Europe.”
“So much of what we know of racing and love came from those incredible people who fought for this nation,” Squier continued. “They were common men that did incredible deeds.”
“And racing is full of those people and still is today,” Squier said. “So, that’s what has always brought me back to this.”
“I can’t stop it because I like it so much and I like the people so much.”
“It is that good.”
For his years of passion for the sport, Squier was inducted recently into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and also was recognized with the unveiling of the Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence, with his good friend Barney Hall, at recent ceremonies at NASCAR’s Hall of Fame.
So, this weekend, as fans across the nation sit down to watch the Great American race yet again, with the new gyrocam and other technological broadcasting advances, all should remember that common men doing uncommon deeds, both on and off the track, have grown the sport to what it is today.
And Ken Squier was certainly one of those common men with an uncommon influence on the sport of NASCAR racing.
[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson, complete with his Madagascar No. 48 car and wig, mastered the Monster Mile for the seventh time, tying Bobby Allison and the King, Richard Petty, for the most career wins at Dover International Speedway.
This was Johnson’s 57th victory in 376 Cup races and his second victory in 2012.
“I’m just proud of this hair,” Johnson said, still rocking his Madagascar wig. “It brought some speed to the team.”
“It was just a fun day,” Johnson continued. “We had a fast car and amazing pit stops.”
“When you lead the most laps, sometimes it can backfire on a dominant car,” Johnson said. “It was a brand new race car so I’m just proud of the effort.”
“The car was really good,” Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, said. “Jimmie’s the man here.”
“He understands this race track and enjoys coming here,” Knaus continued. “We enjoy it as well.”
Kevin Harvick, in the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, was not able to live up to his ‘Closer’ moniker, but did finish in the runner up spot, maintaining his seventh position in the point standings. This was Harvick’s 18th top-10 finish at the Monster Mile.
“The 48 just had us covered today,” Harvick said. “But all in all our Jimmy John’s guys did a good job.”
“I made a mistake on pit road, but we had a car capable of making up positions and drive back through the pack,” Harvick continued. “We were able to keep up with the race track and that was the key to get in position to at least give ourselves a chance.”
“We had a solid race.”
The driver of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford, Matt Kenseth, came in third in the FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks. He remains second in the point standings, just one point behind his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle.
“We honestly struggled,” Kenseth said of his race. “But I’m happy to come home third in a car that didn’t drive the way we wanted it.”
“I feel good about our points position obviously,” Kenseth continued. “But certainly, we know we have some work to do.”
“I don’t think anyone could run with the 48 so we have some work to do.”
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 88 AMP Energy/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, driving the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, rounded out the top five.
“We needed a little more grip in the front end,” Junior said. “We had a good car though.”
“We had a good run and a good points day,” Junior continued, moving up one spot to third in points, just ten back from the leader. “I want to congratulate Jimmie my teammate.”
“It was a solid weekend,” Bowyer said. “I had a tough day on pit road, but we could battle back on restarts.”
“I’m proud of the effort and MWR had good cars all weekend long.”
The race was marred by a monstrous crash early in the race, in fact on Lap 9, involving thirteen cars. This was the most cars in a wreck to date in the 2012 season.
Drivers from Regan Smith to Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Landon Cassill, to name a few, were involved in the melee, which brought out the red flag for 19 min 54 seconds.
“I actually didn’t even feel him (Tony Stewart) touch me,” Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 83 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota, said. Cassill’s car bore the brunt of the multiple-car pileup.
“I was just passed by the No. 1 (Jamie McMurray) and I was trying to dime in the corner a little bit more,” Cassill continued. “He (Stewart) was just barely there.”
“Tony is one of the most patient drivers and especially in this part of the race,” Cassill said. “It’s just too bad that it tore up that many race cars.”
Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row/CSX Play It Safe Chevrolet, took responsibility for the wreck.
“I know I got in the back of the 14 and spun him,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of wrecked race cars here and none of us like that, especially on Lap 9.”
For Tony Stewart’s part, the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, said that it was a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
“As far back as we were, I didn’t have the luxury of being patient,” Smoke said. “It’s just a crappy weekend all around.”
The mile was monstrous for the Busch brothers, with Kurt Busch, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet, having two pit road penalties and ultimately blowing his engine, and Kyle Busch having engine woes as well, which put him out of the race.
Kurt Busch, who had had an altercation with Sporting News reporter Bob Pockrass after the Nationwide race again displayed his anger and frustration, asking his team at one point, “Anybody want to drive?”
Kyle Busch, driving the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, said that dropping a valve ended their day early in at the Monster Mile.
“It’s real unfortunate,” Busch said. “We had a good car, we were running up front there. We were biding our time trying to see if we couldn’t keep up with the race track.”
“I hate it that we give a post-race interview this way rather than finishing.”
‘Concrete Carl’ also had difficulties at the Monster Mile. Edwards, in his No. 99 Subway Ford, blew a tire and hit the wall hard on Lap 165.
“Our front right tire went flat,” Edwards said. “It is so frustrating to have that good of a car.”
“We will come back and get them in the fall.”
The race at the Monster Mile also sported several engine failures, including Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, David Reutimann and Jeff Burton. This was more engine failures at Dover than in the last three races combined.
“First of all we had a good car today,” Burton said of his No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet, which was running in the ninth position prior to the engine failure. “That’s the good thing.”
“We broke an engine here, but the monkey is on us right now and it will get off one day,” Burton continued. “I’ve never quit anything in my life and I’m not going to quit this.”
The Cup Series next moves from the Monster Mile to the recently repaved ‘Tricky Triangle’ at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, June 10th.
[media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]From the command to start engine from Victory Junction Gang campers to Brad Keselowski manning the tank to rip up the Kansas track after the race ended, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 2nd Annual STP 400.
Surprising: While Kansas may be known as the Land of Oz, it was more like the land of highs and lows for this race day, with an extremely high number of engine failures and pit errors to a record low number of cautions.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard, was one of the first to struggle on pit road, missing it completely as he attempted to pit early in the race. Other drivers, such as Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick barely made it to the pits after running short on fuel. And even five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had his own set of pit woes with his team struggling with a loose lug nut.
There were also an extremely high number of engine problems, affecting drivers from Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin to four-time champion Jeff Gordon, all of whose engines either sputtered or just plain blew up completely.
And as for cautions, there were only three, the lowest ever for a Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Although there was the lowest number of cautions, on the flip side, the average speed was surprisingly the highest at Kansas, 144.126 mph, a new track record.
Not Surprising: On the rough surface of the Kansas Speedway, it was not surprising that tires made all the difference in the outcome of the race. Just ask Martin Truex, Jr. whose tires fell off after leading 173 laps, costing him the race win and handing it to Denny Hamlin with just 31 laps to go.
“We put that last set of tires on and it wasn’t anything like it had been all day long – just bad, bad loose,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry said. “We had them. I don’t know what happened with that last set of tires but they were terrible.”
With Truex’s tire troubles, Denny Hamlin capitalized, scoring his 19th victory in 231 Cup Series races. This was the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota driver’s second victory and fourth top-10 finish in the 2012 season. It was also the first time his manufacturer, Toyota, was in victory lane at Kansas.
“I knew that he was driving his heart out as well as I was driving mine,” Hamlin said. “What got me the lead was driving hard and that’s kind of where we were able to stretch it out.”
Surprising: After scoring the pole position, it was surprisingly heartbreaking that the troubles that have been omnipresent for A.J. Allmendinger continued. The driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing went from race leader to a 32nd place finish because of engine troubles.
“Man, it’s just starting to feel like ‘Ground Hog’s Day’,” Allmendinger said. “We were off to such a great start and then the gremlins hit us.”
“Not sure how to explain it other than you’re on the pole one minute riding around leading laps and then the next thing you know your car isn’t right,” Dinger continued. “I just couldn’t believe it. Like I said, ‘Ground Hog Day.’
Not Surprising: With his confidence growing, it was not surprising to see fellow Penske racer Sam Hornish Jr. have a respectable run in his one off deal for the team. The driver of the No. 12 SKF Penske Dodge scored a 19th place finish.
“We had a decent day,” Hornish Jr. said. “We led some laps and made a very respectable effort.”
“It was good to get back in a Cup car again.”
Surprising: Since everyone wants to win in front of their friends and family, it was surprising that no home town heroes were in victory lane at Kansas Speedway. Carl Edwards, who was able to drive to the track from his home, finished ninth and Clint Bowyer, fellow Kansas native, had engine troubles, finishing in the 36th spot.
“It was just a major bummer,” Clint Bowyer, the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “I just wish it wouldn’t have happened here.”
“It wasn’t a great result but a really good effort,” Edwards said of his run in the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion. “I wanted to win here more than anything but we get to come back.”
“It’s humbling and I can’t wait to come back,” Edwards continued. “We’ll do it.”
Not Surprising: The quest for the 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports is not surprisingly beginning to resemble the streak that Susan Lucci experienced with her Daytime Emmy awards. While Hendrick Motorsports had a fairly good day, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, the 200th victory still remains elusive.
“It just didn’t happen,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger said. “As a group, we know it’s coming.”
“It’s just when you have a target, it always makes it more challenging,” Gordon continued. “We’re trying not to put too much pressure on us with that and just trying to go out and do our thing and do our job.”
Surprising: While Hendrick Motorsports struggled to reach their 200th win marker at Kansas, it was surprising to note that there is another quest for a 200th victory. The race winning No. 11 car in fact now has 199 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories, breaking a tie for most wins all-time with the No. 43.
Other drivers who have won in the No. 11 car include Cale Yarborough with 55 wins, Ned Jarrett with 49, Darrell Waltrip with 43, Denny Hamlin with 19, Junior Johnson with 11, Bill Elliott with 6, Geoff Bodine with 4, Terry Labonte with 4, Bobby Allison with 3, Buddy Baker with 2, A.J. Foyt with 1, Mario Andretti with 1 and Parnelli Jones with 1.
Not Surprising: Greg Biffle, to no one’s surprise, has continued his consistently good runs. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford finished fifth and more important maintained his points lead.
“It’s not a disappointing day for a fifth-place finish,” Biffle said. “But it’s probably a disappointing day for how the car ran.”
“It feels good to be disappointed with a fifth-place finish,” Biff continued. “Fifth is OK but we wanted to compete better on the race track.”
[media-credit name=”Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]NASCAR Preview 2012 was all about the fans and the fans came by the thousands. Many camped out overnight in front of the Charlotte Convention Center, even standing in the pouring rain, in anticipation of the event. This may sound crazy to some but I can only imagine the stories told and the new friends made while they waited patiently for the doors to open.
Sam Alverson of Jacksonville, Fla. had the distinction of being the first fan through the door after standing in line for 26 hours.
They came from all over the country carrying pictures and diecast cars to get autographs and a picture taken with their favorite NASCAR drivers. Over 60 drivers from all three national divisions were there to accommodate them.
A few of the drivers even hung out after their autograph sessions and spent a few minutes talking with their fans.
A friend told me about one small girl that she saw carrying a tire through the long lines for autographs. She would carry it for a few feet, set it down for a quick rest and repeat the process again and again. Her father asked his young daughter if she wanted him to carry it for a while but she loudly told him, “No, I can do it.”
You can’t help but smile at the dedication and loyalty of NASCAR fans.
The day was filled with non-stop action including driver interviews on stage, sponsor exhibits and car displays. There were plenty of places to rest and get a bite to eat plus you could buy the newest items honoring Friday night’s class of inductees. It may have been rainy and dreary outside but inside the fans were having the times of their lives.
The preview also honored the legends of the sport.
The day began with a free breakfast with Junior Johnson featuring his famous breakfast items. You could also get a picture and an autograph with the 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.
Throughout the day you could take a NASCAR Hall of Fame tour that included a meet and greet with legends Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip.
Finally the day ended with an “Evening of Living History.” These storytelling sessions took place at different areas in the Hall of Fame and were led by Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood and Dale Inman who were joined by friends and family on stage.
Several of these were held at the same time so I chose to attend the one led by Junior Johnson. It was held in front of his moonshine still and guests were encouraged to sample some of Johnson’s ‘Midnight Moon Moonshine.’ Although I didn’t indulge, the ‘Apple Pie’ flavor seemed to be the crowd favorite.
Johnson was joined by NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley and writer Tom Higgins.
This turned out to be the highlight of my day so I’ve included one of several stories that left me with a smile on my face as I headed home Saturday evening.
Higgins opened things up with what he called his favorite “Junior moonshine story.”
It was back in the 1950s when Junior and Gwyn Staley, a good friend, headed up to Virginia to take two loads of moonshine to some thirsty sailors. They had to keep moving their stash to keep ahead of the revenuers so they had to drive across the Brushy Mountains to a hiding place near Taylorsville, N.C.
When they got there, they loaded up their hauler cars and were on the way back to Wilkes County to gas up the cars.
“They were coming across the mountain and saw where a car had slid off the road. Steam was coming out of it and two dazed men were walking around the car. So Junior who is a very kind man, generous and a Good Samaritan, stopped, although he had liquor in the car. He went up to this car that had turned over and lo and behold there was the high sheriff of Wilkes County and his chief deputy.” said Higgins.
By this time, everyone in the room was hanging on every word.
“They had liquor on their breath and lipstick on their collars and they’d been somewhere they shouldn’t have been. The sheriff looked up and said thank God it’s you Junior. You’ve got to get us back to the courthouse or they’ll throw me out of office.” Higgins continued. “Junior said, Hell sheriff I can’t take you to the courthouse I got a load of liquor in my car. The sheriff said, Junior if you’ll get me out of this I promise I’ll never chase you again and I’ll never let any of my deputies chase you.”
Johnson agreed to take the sheriff back. So they rearranged the cases of liquor in the car to make seats and they took the high sheriff and the deputy back to Wilkesboro.
Higgins ended the story by saying, “Junior still sees the sheriff from time to time on the streets of North Wilkesboro and he tries to evade Junior but Junior won’t let him.”
“He’ll grin at him, wink and say, Sheriff, you been across the mountain lately?”
Kelley asked if the sheriff had been true to his word. Johnson just laughed and said, “After that, he didn’t even want to talk to me.”
In the countdown to Daytona, there are just 80 more days until the green flag waves. While there have been many drivers in the No. 80 car, including Dave Blaney, Joe Ruttman, Mike Bliss, Randy LaJoie, Carl Long, Ted Christopher, Mario Gosselin, Andy Hillenburg and Aric Almirola, the driver with the most time behind the wheel of that car number was without a doubt Jimmy Horton.
[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Curtis Palmer/Wikipedia” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Horton, a driver born and bred in New Jersey, raced in 48 NASCAR Cup races in eight seasons. He was behind the wheel of the No. 80 for 22 races, ranging from 1984 to 1994.
“It was a good deal,” Horton said of his ride in the No. 80 car. “We started out in the No. 85 and then turned it over to the No. 80 because we couldn’t have No. 85 when we ran Cup.”
“We started out running Cup with it but backed off a little bit to learn a little more,” Horton continued. “Then we went ARCA racing and we did real well. We won a total of eight ARCA races, five in a row.”
As with many race car drivers, Horton started racing on dirt tracks close to home. He first started racing in 1974 in Middletown, New Jersey on Saturday nights and at Nazareth, Pennsylvania on Sundays, winning track championships at both tracks.
Horton’s first asphalt race was at Daytona, which was also his first time ever in the draft.
“I ran a Busch car in 1985 at Daytona,” Horton said. “We qualified 19th and ended up breaking a motor early. But that was my first real asphalt race that I ran and my first time in the draft.”
“Bobby Allison helped us,” Horton continued. “At the time there were short fields in the Cup cars. Our first car was a Ford Thunderbird.”
Horton also ran Dover and Pocono in the Cup series and then went ARCA racing. His first race in ARCA was again at Daytona, where he took the checkered flag.
Yet in spite of his ARCA success, Horton was unable to return to the Cup Series on a full-time basis. As he described it, he was caught in the ‘middle generation’ of NASCAR drivers.
“I had my foot in the door with the Cup deal and it was going to take off,” Horton said. “But when I was trying to get in, all the owners wanted older, experienced drivers.”
“I was 33 years old when Jeff Gordon comes in at 20 years old,” Horton continued. “And everyone jumped over that whole one crop.”
“I wasn’t alone but they jumped over that whole group and went to the younger drivers,” Horton said. “That middle generation got skipped.”
In addition to running the No. 80 car, Horton is also known for two other reasons. First, many fans may recognize that he subbed for an injured Darrell Waltrip. The other reason for Horton’s notoriety is for two major crashes in which he was involved, one where he flew off the track at Talladega and the other a major wreck at Atlanta.
“I drove for Darrell (Waltrip) when he got hurt and I ran real good,” Horton said. “I ran three races and Greg Sacks drove the car until Darrell was able to get back in it.”
“I’ve had my share of crashes,” Horton said. “I was conscious for that whole time at Talladega when I crashed right off the race track.”
“I started to get out, but the State trooper put his hand on my helmet and told me I better sit there a minute,” Horton continued. “I told him I’d had about all I could stand and I was getting out.”
“Two years later, I wrecked at Atlanta and that one hurt me pretty good,” Horton aid. “I had a cracked skull, two broken shoulder blades, and a broken wrist. That one hurt me.”
“But we mended good and went racing again.”
At age 55 years, Horton is still honing his craft. For the 2011 season he ran close to 60 races, at his regular dirt track on Saturday nights and some select special races, winning one race and finishing fifth in points.
“I’ve always said when I don’t win a race in a year, I’ll retire,” Horton said. “I’ve been lucky the past two years that I’ve won a race a year, so I’ll keep going.”
“Next year, we’re just going to run selected races and I’m looking for a ride to run a full schedule,” Horton continued. “Right now I work building racing radiators and all parts for the race cars.”
But for Horton, sitting behind the wheel of the No. 80 car was one of the most special times in his life.
“The 80 car was a real good deal,” Horton said. “The 80 number has been good to me.”
With just 85 more days to Daytona, the focus can be on none other than Jeff Gordon’s 85th historic win this season. With his 85th victory, Gordon moved from being tied with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip to sole position in third on the all-time career win list.
[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Gordon also joined even more elite company, now behind Richard Petty, with 200 career victories, and David Pearson, with 105 career wins. The Hendrick Motorsports driver earned his 85th win at the track where he made his Cup debut in 1992.
The historic 85th win also came with some drama as weather wreaked havoc with the AdvocCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway that weekend this season. Gordon scored the historic 85th after a two-day rain delay and by surviving a race delayed by several showers, as well as several late-race wrecks.
In fact, Gordon’s historic win came in an historic race, as the AdvoCare 500 was only the second Cup race since 1978 to run on a Tuesday. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday evening, but Tropical Storm Lee forced the two-day rain delay.
While Gordon led 146 of the 325 laps during the Tuesday race and was out front for the final 38 laps, the finish was more than challenging. And it was none other than his teammate, nemesis and five-time champ Jimmie Johnson battling him for the race win at the end.
Gordon was so intent on holding off Johnson to win the race, that he totally lost track of his historic 85th.
“I totally forgot about that,” Gordon said in Victory Lane on receiving a special plaque from NASCAR saluting his 85th win. “Eighty-five, wow. That is unbelievable.”
“We really used the car up at the end,” Gordon continued. “I was slipping and sliding. It was a lot of fun racing with Jimmie (Johnson).”
While securing his 85th, Gordon was also at that time primarily focused on making the Chase for the Championship and a run at his own fifth title. With his 85th victory and third win of the 2011 season, he also scored sole possession for the fifth spot in the point standings.
“I’m just blown away by the kind of day we had; the kind of year we’re having,” Gordon said. “I just feel rejuvenated in such a big way.”
Gordon’s crew chief Alan Gustafson shared his driver’s sentiments, but also admitted that he had been worried going into the 1.5 mile Atlanta race track.
“This was one of the race tracks that we felt like, to be an elite team and contend for the championship, we’ll have to do well on these styles of tracks,” Gustafson said. “There were times when I felt like we were going to win the race and times that we were 10th and it look like it was going to rain out.”
“That’s all Jeff Gordon right there,” Gustafson said of his driver and his historic 85th win.
There was other drama on the race track that might have impacted Gordon’s historic 85th win, however, the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger managed to stay out of the fray. Involved in ‘Boys have at it, Atlanta style’ were Juan Pablo Montoya and Clint Bowyer, the former sending the latter into the wall, damaging his Chase hopes.
After that encounter, Bowyer had a few choice names for JPM, as well as saying it was impossible to race around him.
“We’re out here racing for a spot in the Chase,” Bowyer said. “He’s racing for nothing.”
In addition to dodging the wrecks at race end, Gordon also had to survive a very close finish to score his 85th career victory. He won by just about half a second, 0.598 seconds to be exact, over his teammate Jimmie Johnson, who at the end of this race took over the top spot in the Chase standings.
Johnson was running so fast at the end trying to catch Gordon that he literally was sideways coming to the checkered flag.
“I’m so glad I grew up racing on dirt,” Johnson said. “I could have spun out four or five times at the end. To race that hard, that sideways at 180 mph, lap after lap, is a good time.”
“That was fun,” Gordon said of his Atlanta win and his 85th career victory. “We’ve been able to send a message of how strong this team is and just how good our race cars are.”
