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NASCAR Looks Ahead to the Chase for the Sprint Cup After a Volatile Night in Richmond Sets the Field

NASCAR’s regular season is officially over and now as we look forward to the first race of the Chase and the 12 drivers who will be giving chase to the coveted Sprint Cup, you can’t help but wonder just what the next 10 weeks will bring. A lot of drama spawned from the Wonderful Pistachios 400. Tempers flared, frustration grew, cars damaged (on accident and purposefully), egos bruised, and on track enemies made. Many of the drivers who were still mathematically eligible to make the Chase vocalized the need for a conservative approach on the track and to simply stay out of trouble, but Saturday night under the lights at Richmond International Raceway proved anything but.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”251″][/media-credit]The proof is in the stats. The caution flag waved a record 15 times that night. The poor flagman barely had enough time to take back the green flag from honorary starter Frank Siller, founder of the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Tower Foundation and brother of a NYC firefighter who died on 9/11, after whom his foundation is named before having to grab for the yellow as the first caution of the night came out on lap two. Driver s barely made it a handful of laps before another incident occurred. Green flag. Yellow flag. Repeat.

On lap eight the short track version of “big one” happened after contact made between Chase hopeful, Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann collecting Chase favored Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin in the carnage. It was way too earlier in the evening to be feeling that kind of tension in the air, but it was palpable. The battle had begun and it wouldn’t be long before drivers picked their individual sparring partners.

Kasey Kahne chose wrong, he fought the wall for the first time on lap 27 and then again on lap 51 after going three –wide with Marcos Ambrose and teammate Brian Vickers. The wall remained victorious as Kahne’s No. 4 Red Bull Toyota was towed off the track and the driver taken to the infield care unit. Physically Kahne was all right, but there was that bruised ego that I spoke of earlier to contend with.

Vickers chose Ambrose to a duel, he let the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford know just how displeased he was by intentionally wrecking Ambrose under caution on lap 53 and purposely blocking his entrance to pit road. NASCAR won that one by effectively putting Vickers into “time out,” sending his No. 83 machine to the garage for bad behavior. He was allowed to return to the track 68 laps later after thinking long and hard about his actions.

Earnhardt Jr. brawled with Travis Kvapil on lap 152 by giving him a taste of his own medicine. Kvapil made contact with Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Amp Chevrolet earlier in the race and it was now time for some payback by sending Kvapil’s No. 38 Ford into the turn two wall. Earnhardt Jr., who was a lap down, may have thought he’d win that battle by getting the free pass to get back on the lead lap, but NASCAR saw differently. Since Earnhardt Jr. was involved in the incident that brought out the caution he was awarded the “unlucky dog” pass and stayed a lap down.

Like Kahne before him, Paul Menard took his chance with the wall on lap 172. Once again the wall reigned victorious, sending he and his No. 27 Menards Chevrolet to the garage and ending any hopes of making the Chase.

Kurt Busch started a feud with Jimmie Johnson on lap 185 that would prove to be an all night thing. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet spun in turn two after making contact with Busch. On lap 246 the pair brought out the 11^th caution of the night, Johnson in what looked to be a payback attempt, bumped Busch’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge sending Busch into a spin on turn two. Busch avoided contact with the wall and won the war, as Johnson’s so-called revenge was not so sweet after all, as his car spun out of control and hit the wall, sending him to the garage for repair. 33 laps later Johnson returned to the track on lap 278 and to Busch’s rear bumper by lap 283. However, no further contact was made between he two.

Hamlin and Earnhardt Jr. fought the odds of making the Chase in their busted up racecars in the 392 laps that followed their crash on lap eight, but in the end proved triumphant. They earned they way into the Chase the hard way and victory never tasted sweeter as the two were all smiles in the Media Center. Hamlin maintained his streak of making it into every Chase since his full time Sprint Cup career began in 2006 and Earnhardt Jr. affirmed that he’s still got it and proved his naysayers wrong by making it back into the Chase after a two year hiatus.

Tony Stewart, the third hopeful to make the Chase, did so quietly and consistently, clinching his spot on lap 103. Surprisingly, Stewart fought with no one, on of off the track in Richmond.

September 12, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Wonderful Pistachios 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 11, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono

On a weekend where the patriarch of Pocono Raceway, Doc Mattioli, dramatically announced his retirement and sporadic rain made both the NASCAR Camping World Truck race and the ARCA Series race two-day events, it was no wonder that there was drama aplenty in the 38^th Annual Good Sam RV Insurance 500.

[media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Long Pond, Pennsylvania track known affectionately as the ‘Tricky Triangle’.

Surprising: Although known for his victory lap celebrations displaying a large American flag, it was surprising how the race winner put aside both the celebration and the pain of his broken ankle to patriotically pay tribute to the lives of the troops lost this weekend.

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, climbed gingerly from his race car after taking the checkered flag to pay tribute to the Navy Seals and all who protect the country.

“I’m no hero,” Keselowski said. “The heroes are the guys that died in Afghanistan this weekend. And I want to spend time thinking about them.”

“I have a cousin in the Navy Seals,” Keselowski said. “It was really inspirational to me. That’s what it means to man up.”

“They were my inspiration for this weekend,” Keselowski continued. “I’m glad that we could win today but those are the heroes. I just drive race cars.”

This was Keselowski’s third victory in 74 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his second victory in the 2011 season. This was also Keselowski’s first victory at Pocono Raceway.

Not Surprising: With Keselowski’s set up in his car, it was no surprise that his teammate Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, finished third. This was Busch’s 12^th top-10 finish in 22 races at Pocono Raceway.

Although Kurt Busch did everything he could after the race to deflect the attention, it was also not surprising that he had the most significant altercation in the race, on and off the track. Busch got into it with five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, as the two battled for position late in the race.

“Today was definitely a hard fought battle,” Busch said. “We were hanging on to it at the end. And I brought her home third.”

“We had a good battle all day, especially at the end with the 48,” Busch said. “We’ve had our battles and a lot of times I come out on the short end of the stick. But what I saw today was good hard racing.”

“That’s what race fans love to see, that’s what they bought this ticket for, that’s what they’re sitting in the grandstands, rooting on their favorite driver for to see him get out there, mix it up clean, and bring it home, just like what we were third and fourth.”

Surprising: At a track the he admittedly does not do well at and after spinning in the early laps of the race, as well as being penalized for pitting too soon, it was surprising to see the other Busch brother, Kyle, finish in the runner up position. This was the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota driver’s fifth top-10 finish in four races at Pocono but his 13^th top-10 finish in 2011.

“The guys were flawless this weekend,” Busch said. “We worked real hard at it and it was fast.”

“That last caution killed us,” Busch continued. “I was really hoping to see it go green the rest of the way. Our car was fast out front.”

“All in all, it was a great day to come in second at one of my worst tracks.”

This was the second race of the day in which Busch finished second. He was also the bridesmaid to Kevin Harvick in the Camping World Truck Series race, held over due to the rain.

Not Surprising: Speaking of weather, it was not surprising to see it impact the race, which ended up being was halted for a rain delay lasting one hour, 40 minutes and 46 second. Principal among those drivers who suffered the consequences of the precipitation was pole sitter Joey Logano.

The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet not only started the race in front but was in the lead when the rains came pouring down. In spite of doing every rain dance possible, Pocono Raceway got the track dry and the race resumed. Logano, however, did not resume well, struggling after the race restart, cutting a right rear tire down late in the race and finishing 26^th.

“We just had a flat,” Greg Zipadelli, Logano’s crew chief, said. “You can’t predict that.”

Surprising: Teammates Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, and Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, had their hopes for a good race weekend surprisingly dashed at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

Vickers suffered an engine failure early in the race and suffered his first DNF since Talladega, officially finishing 39^th.

“We lost an engine,” Vickers said dejectedly. “It was tough. I think we had a good car.”

“We just haven’t had things go our way.”

Teammate Kahne also did not have things go his way. He got into a late race collision with Juan Pablo Montoya and finished 28^th.

“We started the weekend off pretty strong,” Kahne said. “But in the race we just were behind.”

“It definitely wasn’t what I expected, especially for a team that’s run so well here in the past.”

Not Surprising: Since Jeff Gordon won the June 12^th Pocono race, it was not surprising to see him power his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet back from a qualifying encounter with the wall to finish top ten in the August 7^th Pocono race.

“I’m happy with our finish considering were we started, deep in the field,” Gordon said.

It was also not surprising that his fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates had good finishes as well, with Jimmie Johnson in fourth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 9^th and Mark Martin in 13^th.

“We had a good car all day long and I’m real happy how that worked out,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said.

Surprising: With all the focus on ‘Iron Man’ Keselowski for gutting out his win and the new feud brewing between five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and one-time champion Kurt Busch, the driver of the No. 27 Certain Teed/Menards Chevrolet went surprisingly unnoticed.

Yet Paul Menard followed up his surprising win from last week at the Brickyard with a tenth place finish at Pocono.

“It was a good follow-up to last week’s win,” Menard said. “We fought hard for this top-10 finish.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the three turns of Pocono wreaked havoc with many drivers, most significantly the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford. David Ragan brought out the second caution early in the race when he spun, heavily damaging the back end of his car.

“I was probably a little too aggressive this early in the race,” Ragan said. “I ran out of race track and didn’t have enough room to chase it.”

With his 34^th place finish, David Ragan not surprisingly became NASCAR’s biggest loser, plummeting three positions in the point standings to 19^th, all but shattering his Chase hopes.

Surprising: There were a surprising number of lead changes, however, they were primarily due to green flag pit stops and not passing on the track. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, had the lead four times for 65 laps and yet, in spite of that, still finished a surprisingly poor 15^th at a track where he has excelled in the past.

Not Surprising: Given the intensity of the restarts, especially on the long Pocono straightaway, it was not surprising to see yet another driver get bit by a changing lanes before the start-finish line penalty. Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/811 Ford, was assessed a pass through penalty, yet was able to learn from his mistakes, overcome it, and rebound to finish 8^th.

August 9, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Lenox Industrial Tools 301

After a week of debate on whether or not NASCAR drivers were athletes, thanks to Golden Tate at the EPSYs, as well as which driver was in desperation mode to make the Chase, 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars took to the Magic Mile in Loudon, New Hampshire.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

[media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Surprising: Prior to the race, most of the drivers were praising the new tire that Goodyear had brought to the track. Yet, by the end of the race, several drivers had experienced surprisingly significant tire issues. One of those most affected was the point leader coming into the race, Kyle Busch.

Busch, behind the wheel of the unusually white No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, blew a tire and slammed into the wall at turn 3. Even worse than his 36^th place finish was his fall from the top of the Chase standings leader board, from first to fifth.

“We blew a tire,” Busch said. “There was too much brake heat.”

“I had a pretty fast car and we were getting there,” Busch continued. “But the tire wouldn’t take it.”

Not Surprising: With one driver dominating the race weekend, from winning his third straight Whelen Modified Series race to the Coors Light pole, it was not surprising to find Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, in Victory Lane.

And following right behind him, sporting a big smile, was his team owner and teammate Tony Stewart, who brought his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, to the checkered flag in second place.

This was the first time that Stewart-Haas Racing had finished 1-2. They had also started the race in the same order in which they finished.

“I’m just really proud of this US Army team and all the people that help out,” Newman said. “It’s a big deal for us.”

“We had a great weekend at Stewart-Haas Racing and I’m really proud of everybody’s effort.”

“It was a perfect day for the organization for sure,” Stewart said. “This is big for everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Surprising: In contrast to their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch’s problems, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano both had surprisingly good days, even with the beating and banging going on at the Magic Mile.

Hamlin, driving the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, and Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot, came in third and fourth respectively.

“It was a pretty physical race in the sense that guys were really banging into each other,” Hamlin said. “I was banging into guys.”

“It was one of those days where you just had to do the best you can to keep four fenders on it by the end of the day,” Hamlin continued. “We had three, but it was good enough to get us through and have a good comeback day finishing third.”

Not Surprising: Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, proved he had the mettle to face adversity and still salvage a decent day at the track. Gordon battled electrical issues for much of the race, describing his warning lights as “lighting up like a Christmas tree” at one point.

Because Gordon had to turn his brake blowers off due to the electrical issues, he had a tire failure at the end of the race, rolling slowing across the line to finish 11^th.

“Oh my goodness,” Gordon said. “What didn’t happen today? It was a pretty crazy day for us.”

“We had a lot of obstacles thrown at us, but certainly we had a lot to smile about with how great our car was.”

Surprising: With all the radio communications possible between driver, crew chief and team nowadays, it was surprising to see one team writing out instructions to their driver on a piece of cardboard during the race.

Jamie McMurray, driving the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker 1 Chevrolet, could not hear his crew so they resorted to old school style of communication. Even that did not help, however, and McMurray and company finished a tough 31^st.

Not Surprising: Similar to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, had a bad day but took it and made it better. Johnson and company had a lug nut issue and then spun, but still recovered to finish fifth.

“We’ve been working and we’ve been patient as a group trying to mature guys and get stuff ready,” the five-time champion said. “But we can’t have these mistakes anymore.”

“We are way too close to the Chase and we need to be right.”

Surprising: While the Red Bull team has had it troubles, especially with the news that the team would be gone after the season, it was surprising to see teammates Kasey Kahne, in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, and Brian Vickers, in the No. 38 Red Bull Toyota, wreck into each other.

Kahne was able to finish the race in sixth but Vickers, who was most affected by the collision, could only recover to place 34^th.

Not Surprising: It was not surprising to see the driver of the No. 99 Ortho Home Defense Ford, Carl Edwards, play the fuel mileage game to regain the points lead with his 13^th place finish.

“We had fun,” Edwards said. “It is fitting we have Aflac for a sponsor because I feel like I was buying insurance at the end.”

“I was letting those guys go by one point at a time thinking that if we had a green-white-checkered, we could win this thing,” Edwards continued. “It is hard to back up like that but it worked.”

July 19, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Infineon Toyota Save Mart 350

In a weekend filled with Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the California wine country, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 23^rd annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”249″][/media-credit]Surprising: Not known for his road racing prowess, the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge finally notched a road course victory. Kurt Busch did so in dominating fashion, taking the checkered flag and quickly resorting to his backwards victory lap around Infineon Raceway.

This was Busch’s 23^rd Cup win, tying Ricky Rudd for 23^rd on the all-time victory list. This was also Busch’s first win since his Coca Cola 600 victory in 2010, breaking a 38 race winless streak.

“It was an unbelievable set up,” Busch said. “Once we got into the groove with this car, it seemed to get better and better. My cars have never done that before.”

“That was an awesome handling Dodge,” Busch continued. “After what we’ve been through, we’ve been on a high these last few weeks.”

Not Surprising: Road courses often lead to road rages and Sonoma did not fail to deliver. Most drivers were mad at somebody, from Denny Hamlin being ticked at AJ Allmendinger , Joey Logano plowing through Robby Gordon, and Juan Pablo Montoya punting Kasey Kahne, as well as getting into it with Brad Keselowski.

But the ‘most mad in wine country’ award goes to Brian Vickers, driving the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, and Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet. The trouble between the two started early in the race when Smoke leaned on Vickers so hard that he got turned, setting off a major melee.

Vickers, however, bided his time until late in the race and paid back Stewart in a major way. In fact, Vickers paid Stewart back so dramatically that the latter came to rest with his rear end elevated on one of the tire barriers, causing Stewart’s first ever DNF on a road course.

“I probably had it coming because I dumped him earlier,” Stewart said of his altercation with Vickers. “It was payback but I dumped him first because he was blocking.”

“I like Brian but I was complaining about how he’s been racing all year,” Smoke continued. “I don’t care if he was Ryan Newman, I would have dumped him too.”

“I’m not going to tolerate it,” Stewart said. “They block, they get dumped.”

“I don’t know why he did it,” Vickers said, explaining his side of the altercation. “I was trying to avoid the 18 (Kyle Busch) and Tony was the least of my concern.”

“He sowed his oats and he reaped them,” Vickers continued. “Stuff happens.”

Surprising: Instead of flitting hither and yon, Carl Edwards surprisingly proved his total focus on the championship by not only forgoing running in the Nationwide race this weekend but by also slugging his way to a third place finish.

“We were lucky,” Edwards said. “Everything went our way today.”

“I stayed here for practice,” Edwards continued. “And it all came together for a third place finish, which is great for our points.”

Edwards, this week piloting the No. 99 Scotts Ortho Ford, posted his third top-10 finish in seven races at Infineon. He also maintained his lead in the Chase standings, now 25 points over second place Kevin Harvick.

Not Surprising: In a weekend marked by coming home, celebrating his daughter’s birthday and premiering his appearance as ‘Jeff Gorvette’ in the Cars 2 movie, it was not surprising to see four-time champion Jeff Gordon finish in the runner up position at one of his most loved race tracks.

The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet notched his 15^th top-10 finish in 19 races at Infineon. It is also Gordon’s sixth top-10 finish in 2011, putting him solidly in Chase contention in the ninth spot in points.

“It was a struggle,” Gordon admitted. “We really missed the set up at the beginning of this race.”

“Our car was fast at the end and that felt awesome,” Gordon continued. “To work our way up to second, man, that was amazing.”

Surprising: For one driver who absolutely abhors road course races, deeming Sonoma “one of my worst tracks,” the race actually did not turn out so badly. Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, finished in the top-15.

Kenseth and his crew chief Jimmy Fennig brought a brand new car to Sonoma, having shaken it down last month at Road America. Kenseth definitely bettered his average finishing position of 22.2 at Sonoma in the past.

Not Surprising: Unfortunately for Junior nation, their favorite but self-admitted road course hater, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., had reason to continue his bad attitude. The driver of the No. 88 scored his second DNF since October 2009, officially finishing 41^st.

“We was just out there running around and we got part of it,” Junior said, referencing the altercation between Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers on Lap 38. “It banged up the nose and knocked a hole in the radiator.”

Junior’s engine did indeed expire from the hole in the radiator, which drained the water and caused the engine to blow. Junior also fell from third to seventh in points as a result of his Sonoma woes.

“I’m not a big fan of the place,” Junior said. “Maybe one of these days.”

Surprising: One of the Cup drivers not often mentioned in the front of the pack was surprisingly a factor in the latter stages of the Toyota/Save Mart 350. David Gilliland, driver of the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford finished 12^th.

“I am really proud of our team today,” Gilliland said. “We had an issue with second gear toward the end of the race there, so we lost a few spots, but I had a lot of fun running up front all day.”

“I asked the guys on the radio during the race if there was an award for passing the most cars ‘cause, man, it sure seemed like I was passing cars all day,” Gilliland continued. “It was a great day for our team.”

Not Surprising: After the gaffe heard round the racing world last year at Infineon when Marcos Ambrose shut off his engine and lost the lead, the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion redeemed himself, finishing fifth.

“I am so proud of my Stanley car and my Stanley team to get a top five out of what could have been a very tough day for me,” Ambrose said. “I want to thank Stanley for putting me in the car and believing in me.”

June 27, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 5-Hour Energy 500

Under threatening skies in Long Pond, PA and after the ARCA race was called for fog the previous day, the Cup Series took the green flag for one of the longer races of the season.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA.

[media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Surprising: One of the most surprised at Pocono Raceway was the driver in Victory Lane celebrating his 84^th career win, tying the record for third on the all-time NASCAR Spring Cup Series win list, along with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip.

Race winner Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, also tied NASCAR Champ Bill Elliott for the most series wins at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

“It’s so amazing because I was so excited about the win and the hard work that Alan (Gustafson) and his guys have been putting into our speedway program or whatever we call these kinds of race tracks, because we struggled on them and I was just so excited to get that win and see what we’ve been working on,” Gordon said.

“So, today to see it all come together, I was so caught up in that,” Gordon continued. “Plus my family was here to celebrate it.”

“I didn’t even think about 84 until they reminded me when I went to do the Speed Channel show Victory Lane,” Gordon said. “And I was like, oh yeah, that’s unbelievable.”

“I really can’t even express in words what it means because I never thought it would happen for me or for anybody.”

Not Surprising: As expected, he new ability to shift, fuel issues, and problems in the pits all played significant roles in the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway. Probably most affected was Carl Edwards, the Series point’s leader, who experienced a valve problem that almost caused him to have an engine failure, however, other drivers struggled as well.

While Edwards was able to turn a lap towards the end of the race, the driver of the No. 99 Kellogg/Cheez-It Ford, finished 37^th, narrowly maintaining his points lead over Jimmie Johnson by six points.

Another driver Tony Stewart complained bitterly throughout the race about the new-found ability to shift. The driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet finished 21^st.

“I just want to thank NASCAR for having us shift about 100 times today,” Stewart said bitterly after losing third gear. “We could have had a good day.”

Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Okuma Chevrolet, had fuel issues early in the race, which relegated him to an earlier pit stop strategy than the rest of the field. Harvick was able to redeem himself, however, and finished top-five.

“It was a total team effort to get our Okuma Chevy up there,” Harvick said. “It was a good solid day for us.”

The driver most bit by problems in the pits was Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota. Vickers received a speeding penalty and then to make matters worse, sped again as he was serving his penalty. Vickers finished 22^nd.

Surprising: Although Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, technically finished third, he along with his crew chief Dave Rogers, were surprised during the post-race inspection when their car officially failed.

“It’s a huge surprise,” Rogers said. “I didn’t present anything to tech that hasn’t been through tech before, several times.”

“The car was 1/16^th low at the end,” Rogers continued. “NASCAR gives you a range to be in and they give us a yellow range and we exceeded the yellow. We were 1/16^th in the red so we were wrong.”

“We have to go back to the shop and figure out why.”

Not Surprising: Kyle’s big brother Kurt, who scored the pole position in his back up No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger, finished in the runner up position to race winner Gordon.

“It was a great run,” Busch said. “The old boy Jeff Gordon had it in him today. We ran him strong, we ran him hard.”

“We were excited with the finish.”

Surprising: It was most surprising to see young gun Landon Cassill, behind the wheel of his No. 41 Security Benefit/Thank A Teacher Chevrolet, lead a few laps towards the end of the race.

“We were just trying a little pit strategy to see if we could catch a caution or something,” Cassill said. “It’s cool leading laps in the world’s greatest motorsport so I’m proud of that.”

Not Surprising: At least two of Jeff Gordon’s other teammates were pretty happy with their run at Pocono Raceway. Old ‘Five Time’ Jimmie Johnson, piloting the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, finished fourth and NASCAR’S most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, finished sixth.

“It was a great day,” Johnson said. “Our engine package held up today with the abuse we gave it.”

“I’m real happy with where I finished,” Dale Jr. said. “The car was pretty good. I was good with the shifting.”

Surprising: Yes indeed, most surprising was the fact that Denny Hamlin, who has mastered the ‘Tricky Triangle’ so often, did not win the race. In fact, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry finished an uncharacteristic 19^th.

“We were just coasting there at the beginning and just nothing went really right,” Hamlin said. “We struggled a little bit on pit road, we got a little bit tighter, I felt like the front bump rubbers just gave up, and then when we left pit road, we had a flat tire.”

“When we did that, it sheared the tire and wrapped it around the housing and broke the brake lines so I had no brakes,” Hamlin continued. “It was just a slew of problems there at the end.”

Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, newly named crew chief Chad Johnston encouraged his driver, Martin Truex, Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, to a top-10 finish.

“That was a hard fought 10^th,” Truex, Jr. said. “Chad did a good job of keeping me calm. We were just missing a little and I hope we can find it soon because we’ll have some fun if we do.”

June 13, 2011
Brian Vickers Hopes Exhilaration of Daytona Skydive Carries Over to Pocono Win

[media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, is still flying high after skydiving into Daytona International Speedway. He is now hoping that the exhilaration will just continue right into one of his better tracks Pocono Raceway.

“It was incredible,” Vickers said. “To be able to jump into Daytona was amazing.”

“Jumping into any other track would have been incredible but Daytona is the biggest event and the biggest track,” Vickers continued. “I thought it would be pretty appropriate and pretty cool to jump in there first.”

“To be able to see the track from that height was cool and it was beautiful,” Vickers said. “That picture is just burned in my mind for sure.”

Not only was the Daytona jump exhilarating for Vickers, but it was also a piece of unfinished business for the young driver. Finishing the Dover race this year also fell into that category as well.

“We had this scheduled last year and it got cancelled due to my health reasons,” Vickers said of his skydive. “So to be able to come back and finish it and to finish what we started meant a lot.”

“Jumping into Daytona and then finishing Dover were two very important things to me personally,” Vickers said. “Dover was the first race I missed so to finish that race and finish it well was important to me. Skydiving at Daytona was something we started in 2010 and to go back and finish that was very special.”

Vickers is counting on that exhilarating feeling from his jump carrying right over into his run at Pocono Raceway, one of his favorite tracks. In fact, Pocono is one of Vickers better tracks, having spent 73.4 percent of the laps in the top 15 in his last ten starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

Vickers has started in the top ten in eight of his twelve starts at Pocono and he has had four top-five and five top-10 finishes. Pocono Raceway ranks second as far as top average-finish tracks for Vickers, with an average finish of 14.3 there.

“Pocono has been a good track for me,” Vickers said. “We’ve run well. I’ve sat on poles, we’ve been fast and I’ve finished second but we haven’t won here so there is unfinished business here too for sure.”

Vickers acknowledges that, as good as he is at Pocono, he along with all of the other drivers, will face some significant challenges. Among those are facing yet another potential fuel mileage race, as well as the new ability to shift.

“This race has been fuel strategy before but sometimes it’s just been a battle at the end,” Vickers said. “It just depends.”

“You can’t just plan on doing fuel strategy because it just depends on when the last caution falls,” Vickers continued. “It just depends on how the race plays out.”

“The shifting is going to be power shifting again and I think it’s better for the racing,” Vickers said. “We’ll see more passing.”

“I never understood why they stopped us from shifting,” Vickers continued. “It didn’t save anything or serve any purpose to my knowledge and it was harder to pass. It was a great decision to start shifting again.”

Another issue making the Triangle tricky in Vickers’ opinion is the heat, which is a bit of a carryover from the Kansas inferno of last weekend. Yet, Vickers definitely feels that plays right into his hands.

“It’s been very hot lately and the last couple of races have been very hot,” Vickers said. “I love it because I’m in the best shape of my life. It’s just an advantage that I have.”

Vickers also admitted that the heat not only makes the drivers miserably physically but can also lead to some heated emotions as well.

“There have been a lot of hot tempers lately,” Vickers said. “That’s just the emotional part of our sport.”

“It’s also just the personalities of each individual,” Vickers continued. “The hot head or temper has never been my thing.”

Vickers also acknowledged that the length of the race, the Five Hour Energy 500, can also take its toll, physically and emotionally.

“It’s a very long race and it’s actually too long,” Vickers said. “I love Pocono and I want to see them keep their race dates but I think to do that, they’re going to have to shorten the race.”

“The fans here are amazing and they almost always fill the stands,” Vickers continued. “I really enjoy racing on the track, but it’s too long. But it is what it is for now.”

Vickers’ final challenge at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ is figuring out his qualifying order strategy.

“You want to go out early for qualifying so you have to sandbag a little bit,” Vickers said. “But if it rains, you want to be in the front. So, it’s tough.”

“A lot of it is just going to be playing the weather and whoever makes the best guess for the weather will have that advantage,” Vickers continued. “If it looks like it’s going to rain, they’ll go as fast as they can to qualify late. But if it looks sunny and hot, you’ll see some guys lay off in practice.”

“It’s hard because you want to go fast,” Vickers said. “But there’s ways to do it without compromising the performance of the set up or the car.”

Vickers is also hoping, very earnestly, that Pocono will not only yield a good finish but will also help him continue to climb in the point standings. And, of course, he too has his eye on making the Chase, currently sitting 26^th in the point standings, just 29 points shy of the 20^th spot.

“We need to keep climbing,” Vickers said. “We got in a hole at the beginning of the year and we got into some wrecks early in the season. So, we need to get out of this hole.”

“I still think we can get there,” Vickers continued. “A win or two would put us in the Chase for the wild card and hopefully we can climb our way back up the hard way. But either way, I still think we have a shot at it.”

What was truly amazing to Vickers, however, was that he actually skydived into Daytona at 5,000 feet, which is just slightly longer than the front stretch of the Pocono Raceway at 3,740 feet.

“That’s crazy,” Vickers said. “It was exhilarating.”

June 11, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

Under threatening skies at the beginning of the race and with one caution for precipitation, the sun emerged and then beat down upon the Monster Mile at Dover, Delaware for the remainder of the race.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]

Surprising: It was surprising to see the comers and goers at Dover and in the end, to see who gambled and who did not. And in a town where the casino resides right next to the track, the gambling paid off, especially for those that either stayed out without tires or who took two instead of four.

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, was probably the biggest gambler, staying out on the last pit stop with no new tires to finish in the runner up position. This was his first top five of the season.

“Lance McGrew and the GoDaddy.com team deserve this,” Martin said. “We just about pulled one off there. We finally had a good finish.

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Wiley X Sunglasses Ford, also gambled with a two tire stop, and finished his day in Victory Lane.

“Obviously it was a great day for us and pretty exciting for us to win that way here at Dover,” Kenseth said. “I was happy we were able to pull it off.”

The gambling also paid off in the point standings, with Kenseth jumping four spots to the sixth position and Martin moving up three spots to the 11^th position.

Not Surprising: With so many drivers taking either no or just two tires, it was not surprising that the dominant cars throughout most of the race, including the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson and the No. 99 Aflac Ford of Carl Edwards, finished a bit further back in the pack in ninth and seventh respectively, after deciding on a four-tire strategy.

This was the second week in a row that Edwards and company took four tires and did not win. Both Edwards and Johnson, however, maintained their top standing in the points, first and second respectively.

Surprising: It was surprising just how different the Monster Mile treated teammates throughout the race. One of the best examples was the split between Richard Petty Motorsports teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose.

After starting from the outside pole, the ‘Dinger not only had high hopes for a great finish but he even fulfilled his wish of leading a lap. But instead of potentially contending for a race win, the engine on his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Best Buy Ford gave up the ghost.

“I don’t know, it was weird because it all happened at once and there was no sign of it,” Allmendinger said. “We were going to run them (the leaders) down and all of a sudden off (turn) two, it went.”

“Honestly, it sucks,” Allmendinger continued. “I really wanted this for us and Ford and Best Buy and everybody, the King especially. I hate this.”

On the flip side, his RPM teammate Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 Dewalt Ford, had a stellar day, finishing in the third spot.

“I get a good feel on these concrete tracks,” Ambrose said. “On concrete, I think it’s the steep banking that helps me feel the tires.”

“It was a great day and a really good call for two tires there at the end.”

Not Surprising: The tale of two teammates continued with the results chasm between Brian Vickers, piloting the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Kasey Kahne in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.

Vickers, who at the time of last year’s Dover race was in the hospital “with two IVs stuck in both arms”, finished fifth, while Kahne blew an engine and was out of the race.

“This was a great team effort,” Vickers said. “I feel great. It was a special race.”

Kahne, on the other hand, started fourth and was running in the top ten for much of the race, only to experience engine issues.

“We had a great Red Bull Toyota,” Kahne said.”The car was really fast early on. I think I over-revved it so it may be my fault that it let go.”

Surprising: Both cars in the Stewart-Haas Racing stable, including the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet of Ryan Newman and the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet piloted by Tony Stewart, were surprisingly bad at the Monster Mile. In fact, Stewart deemed his car evil, finishing 29th, multiple laps down. Newman battled all day as well, taking the checkered flag in the 21st position.

Stewart summed up the SHR day overall on one of his radio communications during the race, saying “I’ve got no (expletive) confidence in our team right now.”

Not Surprising: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota surprised no one in driving from the rear of the field due to an engine change to a fourth place finish.

“Considering how far behind we started with the engine failure and how I ran it into the fence, it was a really good result,” Busch said.

Surprising: After a hard crash in the Nationwide run that ruined a potentially winning day, Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, had high hopes for redemption, starting in the fifth spot. Logano, however, brought out the first caution, spinning and hitting the wall. Logano’s car was not right for the rest of the race, again hitting the wall in the waning laps of the race to finish 27^th.

Not Surprising: Living up to the track’s nickname, there were some monstrous moments on pit road during the race in Dover. David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford, had an adventure getting to his pit, spinning, hitting the guard rail and then almost blocking the entrance trying to get his car pointed in the right direction.

“I just locked up the rear brakes a little coming into the pits during the green flag stop,” Ragan said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever wrecked like that getting to pit road.”

“I guess I pushed it a little too hard today.”

Rookie Andy Lally, in the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford, also had a pit misadventure, with a major slide down pit road late in the race. Lally finished in the 33rd position.

May 15, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond’s Crown Royal 400

After the sounds of the US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps playing the National Anthem and the command to start engines by surviving war hero and race namesake Staff Sergeant Matthew Hansen faded, Saturday night racing was officially underway at Richmond International Raceway.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400.

Surprising: It was surprising to see just how quickly the pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, fell from his prime starting position into a world of trouble with Ryan Newman, piloting the No. 39 US Army Medicine Chevrolet.

After some tussling back and forth for position, Newman had had enough with the ever assertive Montoya, sending JPM into the wall on Lap 106. Montoya returned to the track and on Lap 236 took his revenge. [media-credit id=5 align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]

After being spun out by Montoya, Newman was definitely hot under the collar. “I can’t believe they’re not going to black flag that 42 car,” Newman said. “I’m going to take care of this after the race.”

Newman did indeed head straight for the NASCAR hauler after the race to share his concerns and see what the sanctioning body had to say about the incident. Montoya, on the other hand, waved off the media, jumped on his golf cart and headed back to the motor coach lot without comment.

Newman declared he just wanted the situation to be handled fairly by the sanctioning body.

“I know that he (Montoya) ran up on me of (Turn) 2 there and I clipped him. I mean I’m not going to try to dump myself into the wall,” Newman said. “But to retaliate the way he did just didn’t show much class.”

Not Surprising: Since the track was Richmond, it was not surprising to see the Joe Gibbs Racing team at the front of the pack when the checkered flag flew. While Denny Hamlin had dominated the weekend, winning his own charity race as well as the Nationwide event, it was JGR teammate Kyle Busch, in his award winning M&Ms Pretzel Toyota, that led 235 laps including the final 84, to claim the victory.

“This race tonight was a good one,” Busch said. “We knew if we could go through traffic, we could win.”

“We just really got beat by our teammate,” Hamlin said. “He drove a great race. Our cars were dead equal. We just got beat.”

Surprising: There were definitely some surprising names in the top ten finishers when the checkered flag flew at RIR. Both Red Bull drivers, Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Brian Vickers, behind the wheel of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, had good nights.

Kahne, still smarting from his recent knee surgery, finished third and Vickers posted a tenth place finish.

Another driver David Ragan, piloting his No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush- Fenway Racing, had a strong car especially at the end of the race, finishing fourth.

“It was a fun night,” Ragan said. “This is my favorite track to come to. Back in 2007, we finished third here and I have really liked the place since.”

The final driver not usually in the top ten but with a great run at Richmond was AJ Allmendinger. With new sponsor Nautica on his No. 43 Ford Fusion, the ‘Dinger brought his car home in the seventh spot.

“Sometimes in these races, you have to get a little lucky,” Allmendinger said. “We have been on the bad end before with good cars so I will take luck over skill any day.”

Not Surprising: Although mightily struggling for much of the race, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson found his inner rally and finished eighth.

“We had a good finish out of it but it was a long, long night,” Johnson said. “We got the car semi-competitive and then finally got some strategy, got back on the lead lap and we went from there. So, frustrating night but a good points night.”

Surprising: Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon had a surprisingly bad night. Gordon yet again found a non-safer barrier wall and wrecked into it driver’s side first.

The crash on Lap 301 also collected Paul Menard, Mark Martin, David Reutimann, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray and Matt Kenseth.

“It knocked the wind out of me,” Gordon said after his visit to the infield care center. “I seem to find the worst angles of walls.”

“What a shame,” Gordon continued. “The Dupont Chevrolet was so strong. With 100 laps to go everyone was losing their patience including me. I just wish they had a safer barrier there.”

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, it was not surprising that Team Penske continued their struggles. Kurt Busch, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, had all kinds of trouble, from the initial wreck involving Montoya, continuing throughout the race. Teammate Brad Keselowski, in the Blue Deuce, was also involved in several crashes. Busch finished 22^nd and Keselowski finished 36^th.

Surprising: After returning to the lead lap via the ‘lucky dog’ process, Dave Blaney, with his newly committed sponsor Golden Corral on his No. 36 race car, managed to move forward at the end of the race to finish 13^th, his season’s best. Blaney, racing not start and parking for Tommy Baldwin Racing, has now locked himself into the top 35, firmly ensconced in 32^nd in the point standings.

Not Surprising: Carl Edwards had another strong run, posting a fifth place finish in his No. 99 Scotts EZ Seed Ford. He also maintained the top spot in the point standings, nine points over second place Jimmie Johnson and thirty points ahead of race winner Kyle Busch in third.

“That was a lot of work,” Edwards said. “I think that feeling of fifth here tonight will be replaced with the points lead feeling in a little bit and that will feel better.”

May 1, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

At one of the longest tracks on the NASCAR Cup circuit, 2.66 miles to be exact, where lead changes abound and Dale Earnhardt still rules with ten wins, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

[media-credit name=”Steven Iles” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Surprising: Whether you call it the two car tango, dancing with the cars, friends with benefits, flying united, or Noah’s Ark racing, it was most certainly the pairs competition at ‘Dega this year. In comparison to the Daytona 500 to start the season, it was also most surprising how committed the pairs were to one another at Talladega.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet, summed it up best. “We all had commitment phobia in the past. But in this situation, you had to commit and make sacrifices, just like in a relationship.”

Not Surprising: There was no doubt that overcoming that commitment phobia was key to the race finish. Channeling their inner Talladega Nights characters Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pushed his teammate Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, to the checkered flag, scoring the closest margin of victory record at just .002 seconds.

As both drivers shouted “Woo hoos” on their radios, congratulating each other and even sharing the checkered flag, Johnson scored his 54^th career victory, tying Lee Petty, NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, for ninth on the all-time Cup Series win list.

Johnson’s win moved him two spots ahead in the point standings. He currently sits in the second spot, just five points behind leader Carl Edwards.

The other half of that tandem duo, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also surged forward in the point standings. Junior moved up three spots to claim the third position, just 19 points behind Edwards and 14 points behind Johnson.

Surprising: While it was surprising that there was technically no ‘big one’ and thankfully no cars went airborne, there were a few spectacular wrecks and even more amazing saves. Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, laid claim to the biggest saves of the day, two of them in fact, calling on all of his dirt track racing experience to do so. After his first save, Newman was not so lucky on his second save, flat spotting all his tires and relegating him to a 25^th place finish.

Not Surprising: While some drivers were busy saving their cars, other drivers not usually at the front got their chance to shine. Dave Blaney, behind the wheel of the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet, almost had to make good on the sponsor’s offer to let kids eat free if he finished in the top ten. After leading several laps, Blaney unfortunately got turned by Kurt Busch, lost the draft and finished 27^th.

Andy Lally, rookie driver of the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford, also had a big day. Known primarily for his Rolex racing skills, Lally found his place in the draft and finished 19^th for TRG Motorsports.

Surprising: After running so well together and finishing first and second respectively in the Nationwide race, it was somewhat surprising to see how badly Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Pretzel Toyota, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, fared while working together.

On lap 140, Logano tapped Busch, sending him spinning and bringing out the fourth caution. The impact was so intense that Busch’s right side tires lifted before spinning, landing him driver’s side against the retaining wall.

“Joey (Logano) and I worked great all day,” Busch said. “I got spun out – it was nothing Joey did wrong.”

“It’s just a product of what we’ve got,” Busch continued. “So far, at every restrictor-plate race, I’ve been spun out.”

Not Surprising: Since dynamic duos were all the rage, it was not surprising that other pairs fared well together. Clint Bowyer, in the No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet, and Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, both out of the Richard Childress stable, pushed each other to top-ten finishes.

In addition, Hendrick Motorsport teammates Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet while battling a nasty cold, and Mark Martin, piloting the No. 5 Carquest/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, also were committed to each other to finish third and eighth respectively.

Finally, Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards, point leader and expectant father, and Greg Biffle, who just re-signed with sponsor 3M and RFR, were also locked together throughout the race. Edwards finished sixth and Biffle came in right behind in seventh.

Surprising: Red Bull had a most surprisingly bad day at the Talladega Superspeedway. Brian Vickers, in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, spun and hit the wall as a result of contact with Landon Cassill, bringing out the first caution of the race.

Teammate Kasey Kahne, in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, got involved in the second wreck of the day, caught up in an incident started by the collision of teammates Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski. Kahne’s car burst into flames from the oil and the driver was still reeking of smoke in the infield care center before being checked out and released.

Not Surprising: It was not just the drivers that had to dodge and weave in order to stay out of harm’s way this weekend, with tornado warnings throughout the area prior to the race. But in typical NASCAR fashion, the drivers, fans and all their families stuck together, looking out for one another and working together to ensure everyone’s safety.

And in that spirit of camaraderie, happy Easter wishes to all, that is until the next race at Richmond, the Crown Royal 400, on April 30^th.

April 18, 2011