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  • Tough day in Charlotte cuts Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s point lead by 21

    Tough day in Charlotte cuts Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s point lead by 21

    [media-credit id=38 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Just as quickly as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. entered the picture on Saturday in the History 300 at Charlotte, he left it.

    Stenhouse finished 26th in his No. 6 EcoBoost Ford after the transmission went south on lap 65. He’d qualified third and was running in the top 10 when he felt something go wrong and had to pit. The team eventually headed to the garage to fix the issue before Stenhouse was able to rejoin the race.

    “I think the U-joint between the driveshaft and the transmission broke first,” said Stenhouse afterwards. “We’re gonna have to go back and look at it. It was a new driveshaft, new everything, so it was a tough day. Our Ford EcoBoost Mustang was by a far a top five car and had a chance to win for sure, so we can take that from today and go on.

    “Our mile and a half program this year has been really strong and it was strong again here today. We went back out and tried to learn some things for our Cup guys and learn some things for us the next time we come back here. We had a really fast car there at the end, so all in all, it was obviously a tough day for points, but we’ve got to hang out hat on we were really fast.”

    Stenhouse said he began to feel a vibration in the car while under caution. But when he came down pit road he didn’t see anything and went back on track for the restart. That’s when it finally broke and TV cameras caught a piece of metal fly out from underneath his machine.

    It took the team 21 laps to repair the car to be able to send Stenhouse back out to salvage any points they could. Stenhouse had entered the day 34 points ahead of second place Elliott Sadler and on an impressive streak of not having finished outside the top six in the last nine races.

    After Saturday though, Stenhouse’s point lead sits at 13 over Sadler as he suffered his worst finish since the season opening race in Daytona. Certainly not what the team had in mind coming off their third win of the season last weekend in Iowa and driving the same car they had won with in Texas last month.

    It was a fast car, so fast that even while Stenhouse was multiple laps down he was racing amongst the leaders. That didn’t go over well with his competition, specifically Richard Childress and his driver Austin Dillon.

    As Stenhouse came up and passed Dillon the young driver shouted over the radio that if he was able to get to Stenhouse he was going to hit him. Childress agreed, saying Stenhouse would have deserved it and then used a five-letter word to describe the champion. Dillon was unable to ever get to Stenhouse’s back bumper.

    For Stenhouse though, it’s apart of racing and he has no regrets. He knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it at that point in the race. And while others might have said it wasn’t appropriate, Stenhouse won’t apologize for it.

    “I’m just letting them know we’re here to win,” said Stenhouse of actions. “We pulled away by more than a straightway. I was respectful of the guys – the 20 [Joey Logano] and the 30 [James Buescher] – I was respectful to them because they were battling for position there at the end.

    “I got to them and could have passed them, but I backed off and rode around. We’ve got to go out and get every lap we can and if that means running as hard as we can, we’re trying to learn, I’m not gonna just ride around.”

    He further defending himself by saying he would never put others in jeopardy and put himself in a position where someone would end up wrecked. Stenhouse was just looking to see how fast his car was and what he could do with it in traffic. Unfortunately he had to do so in that position instead of contending for the win.

    But the defending champions aren’t panicking. Their competition knew they were there Saturday and Stenhouse feels confident it will be more of the same going forward. The NNS heads to Dover next weekend where Stenhouse finished fourth last season.

    “It doesn’t at all,” said Stenhouse when asked if his outlook changes now. “We’re gonna go out to win every week. We’ve been fast at Dover every single time we’ve been there.

    “We’re going to win. That’s what we do every week and I think we’re gonna have a shot at it next weekend.”

  • 2012 Sprint All-Star Review: The No. 48 Team Dominates All-Star Week

    2012 Sprint All-Star Review: The No. 48 Team Dominates All-Star Week

    Sprint Showdown: Dale Jr Back To Victory Lane

    AJ Allmendinger put his No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge on the pole; however, as the field was coming out of Turn 4 to take the green-flag, Allmendinger was forced to pit for a flat left front tire. This moved Allmendinger to the back of the field, remaining on the lead lap. Allmendinger’s loss was Dale Earnhardt Jr’s gain. Because of Allmendinger’s misfortune, Earnhardt took over the pole position, with Martin Truex Jr. starting in second. Earnhardt looked like a bullet shot out of a gun when he jumped out to a 1.398 second lead over Truex within three laps of the green-flag.

    Earnhardt held onto the lead through the end of the 20-lap segment. While under caution, majority of the teams from third position back went down pit road for adjustments. Earnhardt remained on track to hold onto the lead for the restart and once again jumped ahead of the field by half a straight away. After starting in the back of the field, Jamie McMurray stayed on track during this caution to pick up the second position.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Allmendinger and Truex battled aggressively for third position for nearly 10 laps, with Allmendinger finally taking the position with 12 laps to go. Allmendinger then caught McMurray with 10 laps to go, battling for the position to advance to the All-Star race. This battle continued in the final ten laps – all the while, Dale Jr. held onto a two second lead.

    With a lap and a half to go, McMurray got loose coming off the backstretch which allowed Allmendinger to get under his bumper and make an aggressive pass on him. Earnhardt went on to win the Sprint Showdown, with Allmendinger getting the second place transfer spot. “I got to give most of the credit of our performance to the team”, Earnhardt said. “They put a great car out on the line today that was fast right out the gate.”

    Earnhardt was assumed by many to win the fan vote. With Earnhardt winning the showdown race, this opened up the fan vote to Bobby Labonte. “Actually, the story is two weeks ago we weren’t even going to show up here because this is not in our budget to run this race”, Labonte said. “Guys stepped up, so we got this far. Hopefully we can just keep going. Again, just thank the fans for doing that. That’s really a great deal.”

     

    Sprint All-Star Race: Johnson Steals All-Star Victory

    Kyle “Rowdy” Busch started on the pole for the race, with Ryan “Rocket Man” Newman on the outside pole. Jimmie Johnson showed he had a fast car right off the bat, taking over the lead on Lap 16. After the first segment ended, pit stops and strategy began to play out. Jimmie Johnson pitted twice under this caution; while seven other drivers, including Earnhardt and Denny Hamlin, did not make a pit stop. Hamlin restarted the race in first position, with a fast Earnhardt restarting in 6th position.

    Caution waved on Lap 26 when Carl Edwards’ engine expired. The race restarted on Lap 31 with Hamlin and Marcos Ambrose, who did not pit, leading the field. Just one lap later, Kenseth wasted no time taking over the second position from Ambrose. On the same lap, Earnhardt began to put pressure on Ambrose for third position. Kenseth took over the lead just before the end of the second segment, with Earnhardt taking over third.

    Seven drivers stayed out under caution, allowing Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, and Kevin Harvick to take over the top three positions. Right at the start-finish line, Kahne tried his best to steal the lead from Keselowski, but was about an inch shy of taking it.

    Beginning the fourth segment, Kurt Busch took over the lead of the race after staying on track under caution. It only took Earnhardt, who restarted in second, two laps to take over the lead. Running on old tires, Busch dropped back to fourth position, as Allmendinger and Kahne took over the second and third positions.

    Caution waved on Lap 68 when the second Roush Fenway Ford of Greg Biffle, lost an engine. With 16 to go on the restart, Earnhardt took over the lead once again and jumped out to a hefty lead.  As the final segment came to a close, the 10-lap shootout began. Johnson led the field off pit road, with Kenseth, Keselowski, and Earnhardt following. In the same week that his No. 48 Lowes team won the pit crew challenge, Johnson took his Lowes Chevrolet to victory lane in the All-Star race for the third time in his career. This win has tied Johnson for most All-Star victories with Dale Earnhardt and his teammate, Jeff Gordon.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”342″][/media-credit]At the end of the race, instead of driving the flag around the track in victory, Johnson took his car owner for a victory lap. Rick Hendrick was at the end of pit road and told Johnson to come pick him up. Once Hendrick put his leg inside the car, he was in for a ride.  Rather than driving his owner to victory lane, Johnson took his car owner for a little joy ride around the tri-oval.  Rick waved to the fans around the track in a humorous manner. Johnson won a total of $1,071,340 with his All-Star win.

    Race Results : Sprint All-Star Race
    Sprint All-Star Race – May 19, 2012 – Exhibition

    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time Bnd
    1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    2 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0 90 Running
    3 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 0 90 Running
    4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 90 Running
    5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 0 90 Running
    8 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    9 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    10 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    11 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 0 90 Running
    12 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    13 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    14 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 0 90 Running
    15 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0 90 Running
    16 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    17 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 0 90 Running
    18 34 David Ragan Ford 0 90 Running
    19 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 0 90 Running
    20 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0 90 Running
    21 55 Mark Martin Toyota 0 90 Running
    22 16 Greg Biffle Ford 0 67 Out of Race
    23 99 Carl Edwards Ford 0 25 Out of Race
  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 12 Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Sprint All Star Race – May 19, 2012

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 12 Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Sprint All Star Race – May 19, 2012

    [media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]The stars have come home to Charlotte for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race, and this year brings new drivers, a new format, but the same old distinction. A million dollars rides on the driver able to cross the finish line first following 90 or so laps at The Beast of the Southeast. Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race will be run in 4-20 lap segments, with the four segment-winners staging at the front of the field for the final 10-lap shootout to the wire for the cool million. 90 or more laps will make up the All Star race this year, as only green flag laps count in the final 10-lap shootout.

    Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race wins, with three under his belt already. Carl Edwards made his mark on Charlotte Motor Speedway last season when he practically ripped the front end of his Ford Fusion off from the rest of the car, following his turn through the front-stretch grass in celebration of his first NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race win.

    Some big names still need to race (or be voted) into the big dance on Saturday Night, namely Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, and Jamie McMurray. The way to earn a ticket to the big dance – finish in the top two of the Sprint Showdown is a surefire way, the other – be at the top of the Sprint Fan Vote. Much like Friday and Saturday night home-track races, there’s an A-main and a B-main tonight in Concord. The Sprint Showdown will be ran in two segments of 20 laps each, with the top two finishers moving onto tonight’s A-main.
    With the absence of NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship points comes an extreme level of action and daring driving. Settling for second is never a thought in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, making it one of my favorite race weekends of the entire Sprint Cup season.

    Darlington Recap

    The Lady in Black tamed my recent hot streak of winner picks last week, a result of the toughness Darlington Raceway brings to the sport.

    I picked last week’s pole-sitter, Greg Biffle to win the Bojangles’ Southern 500, a move that looked fairly promising for 74 or so laps last Saturday Night. Biffle’s car seemed to go away as the laps ticked away, battling loose conditions through the latter of the laps at Darlington. He ran in the top-10 for the majority of the race, but the late-race caution set the field up for a green-white-checkered finsh. Biffle restarted 10th, but his 3M Ford Fusion was too much of a handful to muscle into the top-10, ultimately crossing the finish line in 12th.

    My Dark Horse last week qualified for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 in the sixth spot, and ended the race one spot better in fifth. Martin Truex Jr. also battled a loose condition throughout the duration of the race and ran as high as first, but only faltered back to 11th last week. He lead a season high 25 laps and managed to hold his 5th place spot in the championship points standings.

    All-Star Picks

    There is so much to pick for tonight’s All-Star festivities, so I will try to keep my picks short and sweet this week…

    Sprint Showdown

    Kicking off tonight’s on-track activities is the B-main or LCQ (if you’re used to motorcycle racing), otherwise known as the Sprint Showdown. The Showdown is packed with guys eager to have a shot at racing for the cool million, but its Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Burton that will punch their tickets to the big dance by racing their way into the A-main. Both will start in the top-5 for the Showdown and practiced well on Friday.

    Fan Vote

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not race his way into the Sprint All-Star race, but will have a shot at the million via JR Nation. The will vote in droves following his third-place effort in the Sprint Showdown, but JR will start last on the grid for the NASCAR All-Star Race by receiving the 2012 fan vote for the second straight year.

    NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
    Here’s the segment winners first:
    1- Kyle Busch
    2- Jimmie Johnson
    3- Jeff Gordon
    4 – Tony Stewart

    Starting in the top-4 spots of the 10-lap shootout for tonight’s million-dollar purse will be one Toyota and three Chevrolets. In the end, it will be Stewart claiming victory in the All-Star race. He was at Thursday night’s Pit Crew Challenge, and was disappointed when his Stewart-Haas Racing crew was knocked out of the competition in the semi-finals. The defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion is out for revenge tonight and will go home a million dollars richer when the checkered falls.

    That’s all for this week, so until next week’s Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, and Coke 600…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Poor Season Causes Personnel Shake Up At Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

    Poor Season Causes Personnel Shake Up At Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”195″][/media-credit]Immediately after he was introduced, Chip Ganassi, owner and president of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, took the podium and politely welcomed attending members of the media.

    EGR was the first of several race teams to be visited by the media on day two of the Sprint Cup Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Once Ganassi issued his welcome, he went straight to business.

    “Hopefully this is the last time I have to say we finished 21st and 27th in the points, and talk about such a performance.”

    Going into 2011, neither Jamie McMurray nor Juan Pablo Montoya could continue the momentum and success they had in 2010.

    “Last season was frustrating,” said McMurray. “It made us appreciate what we had in 2010.”

    McMurray continued that it was difficult pinpointing exactly what was hindering their performance.

    “Nothing changed from 2010 to 2011. We just didn’t have the success. If we knew what the problems were, we would have fixed them.”

    Ganassi must have felt the elusive problems were insurmountable and couldn’t be corrected with the current personnel at EGR. During the off season a decision was made to change the majority of those personnel.

    “People around the car were a problem,” said Sabates. “We made personnel changes over the off season to help this. We have made mistakes in the past by keeping people too long.”

    Ganassi said the organization needed a shake up because recent performance was pathetic for a team of their abilities and resources.

    “We live in an information age”, said Ganassi. “I don’t need just information, I need CORRECT information.”

    Given the years of economic woes and the continued attrition of competing race teams and employees, the quality of available talent should have been abundant for EGR’s personnel transitions.

  • NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart Kicks Off 2012 Sprint Cup Media Tour

    NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart Kicks Off 2012 Sprint Cup Media Tour

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”119″][/media-credit]

    It was just 65 days ago when Tony Stewart secured his third Sprint Cup Championship with a walk off victory at Miami Homestead Speedway.

    Starting with the season opening Daytona 500, defense of that championship begins in just three short weeks.

    Sandwiched in between those two events is the Sprint Cup Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Strolling to the stage with “How You Like Me Now” playing over the public address system, Tony Stewart kicked off the 2012 Media Tour. He was joined by Ryan Newman, Matt Borland, Tony Gibson, and new comers Danica Patrick, Steve Addington, and Greg Zipadelli.

    The biggest news coming from SHR is the 10 race deal with Patrick and Go Daddy as the primary sponsor.

    During the media break out sessions, Stewart talked about the growth of his young company.

    “I am really proud of the success we have had. It’s amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time.”

    Missing from the SHR superstar lineup was former crew chief Darian Grubb. Stewart stated he was happy Grubb quickly landed somewhere successful. He also made it clear his decision to part ways with Grubb, and hire Steve Addington, was made long before the season ending championship.

    It was revealed that during the chase, Stewart kept in touch with Addington via text messaging, including sending an encouraging text to Addington after the final race of the season.

    When asked about his new driver, Danica Patrick, Stewart continued his praise and offered a bold prediction.

    “Danica is talented and very confident. It is quite possible she could win the Daytona 500. A rookie won it last year, why can’t it happen again?”
    Fielding questions from media members on the other side of the room, Patrick echoed some of Stewart’s thoughts.

    “My inexperience at Daytona should not be a factor,” said Patrick. “The only thing I really had to work on is the bump drafting. There wasn’t bump drafting in Indy racing, so it took me some time to get used to it in Sprint Cup.”

    Stewart and Patrick worked on bump drafting during a recent testing session at Daytona International Speedway. During the three days of testing, both drivers ran multiple laps in single car formations and nose-to-tail formation; taking turns pushing each other around the speedway.

    Along with her 10 race deal at Stewart-Haas Racing, Patrick is also running a full Nationwide schedule in 2012 for JR Motorsports.

    She reflected on her exit from Indy car racing, and hinted at a possible return in the future.
    “I am relieved I can now focus on just NASCAR,” said Patrick. “I will miss Indy, but I am not going to rule out a return in the future.”

    Patrick said she doesn’t expect instant success in NASCAR’s top level and would be happy with mediocre results as long as she’s learning something along the way.
    “If I finish five laps down, it’s ok. As long as I learn something, improve, or get something from the race, its ok.”

    Danica Patrick’s first race of the season will be the Nationwide race at Daytona in February. Tony Stewart, last year’s winner, is also entered in the same race.

  • Matty’s Picks: Vol. 23 – Talladega – October 23, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Vol. 23 – Talladega – October 23, 2011

    Let’s roll the dice again this weekend and head to the Yellowhammer State (no clue as to what that means) for the second and final time of this 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

    Now, I will tell you that the Matty’s Picks columns have been rather lengthy the past 10 weeks or so, and one of the SpeedwayMedia.com editors (Uncle Role Model) let me know about it in the Media Center at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week. So the days of my quirky facts and less than insightful information are over…party pooper.

    Not acting like a tough guy or anything (in all seriousness), there are only a few things that have given me the chills and made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. A brief recap of some of those moments is as follows; the first is even the thought of a needle coming towards my skin, the second was walking into Notre Dame Stadium for the first time just a month ago, and the third was standing in the first row on the front stretch at Talladega Superspeedway while a pack of 43, 750HP stock cars took the wind out of my lungs as they flew by at 200MPH. Talladega is just one of those tracks that all NASCAR fans must visit to truly take in the speed, the talent, and the tailgate that Dega has to offer.

    It’s a tough week to pick a winner because of the fact that ANYTHING can happen in 188 laps at Talladega. Avoiding “The Big One” at the 2.66-mile tri-oval is key, and as of late, finding a partner that is willing to push you to victory and not try anything crazy coming thru the tri-oval on the final lap is the last piece of the puzzle on the way to Victory Lane in Alabama.

    Charlotte Recap

    Let me start by saying that I had the time of my life last weekend in North Carolina. I was blown away by the organization and execution of the race weekend. It was the most well organized, thoroughly staffed, and most hospitable race environments I have ever been a part of. NASCAR race organizers should be required to attend a race weekend in Charlotte before they even think about hosting a Sprint Cup Series race. (Cough, Kentucky…)

    I will start with the bad news first this week in my recap section.

    My Dark Horse pick for last Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was 5-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson. Johnson ran in the Top-10 for the majority of the laps Saturday night, before he was involved with an incident after racing Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick for position.

    The No. 48 Lowe’s/Chevy 100 Year Anniversary Chevrolet was shown in the 7th position when I heard one of the loudest cheers (besides Jr. taking the lead at Bristol), that I’ve ever heard in my life. I was standing in Turn 4 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when the crowed erupted, and as I turned to watch the giant HD video board to see that my Winner Pick had plowed the wall coming out of Turn 2.

    Johnson finished the race scored in 34th, netting me nothing to brag about and spoke following his on-track incident, “That one stung for sure,” Johnson said. “I’m just thankful to have such safe race cars, safe walls. Everything did its job. That was a pretty big impact. It’s just unfortunate that we wrecked. We got into Turn 1, and the (No.) 39 was real tight on my outside, and it pulled me around the corner. From there on, I was just kind of hanging on.”

    I said last week that I was more confident in my Dark Horse pick than my Winner Pick, and for good reason. Kasey Kahne’s driver rating going into last weekend’s Bank of America 500 spoke for itself. He was fourth in overall driver rating at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 94.5, and had 7 Top-5’s including 4 wins at the 1.5-mile quad oval.

    Three practice sessions later, it seemed like Kahne had the car to beat last weekend, winning two of the three practice sessions. Kahne ran very well all night except for when he pitted JUST before the caution flew, catching him a lap down to the leaders about midway through the race. He opted to take the wave around, putting him back on the lead lap, and keeping my hopes alive for a solid finish.

    It was pretty fun watching Kasey Kahne work his way back through the field and back into the Top-5 with around 50 laps remaining.

    Kahne was able to race his way all the way back to fourth, netting me a Top-5 Dark Horse pick (my first since Brad Keselowski finished 3rd way back in August at Michigan).

    “We had a great Red Bull Toyota. The guys did an awesome job. It was just a fine line of being really good or a little off. We kind of went over it throughout the race…we had to fight back. It was just kind of being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. We had a really good car and it was another positive race for us.”

    Talladega Picks

    Picking anyone at a Superspeedway makes me very nervous. I could go through miles and miles of statistics, driver ratings, rants, gut feelings, but really it all comes down to having a bit of luck on your side to win at Talladega. On top of having Lady Luck in your corner, the 2-car draft has created a very team-oriented style of racing at Talladega and Daytona. So having someone who will not get selfish at the end of the race and settle for second is a key to victory at a restrictor plate race.

    This week will be an all or nothing version of Matty’s Picks as I will be picking a pair of teammates to drive to the front on lap 188 Sunday afternoon.

    There is just a hint of strategy this week in making my picks, because a you know it’s a two-car dance at Talladega. Many times it turns out that the two-car pushes are teammates.

    Yesterday, many teams were at Talladega Superspeedway for testing of the new Electronic Fuel Injection system that will make its debut next season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The two fastest cars on the track…Richard Childress racing teammates.

    Winner Pick

    My Winner Pick this week is “The Closer”, for his “Where did he come from?” racing style over the course of the 2011 Sprint Cup Season. Kevin Harvick won the spring race last April at Talladega, one of his four wins at either Daytona or Dega.

    In 60 starts at the two Superspeedways, Kevin Harvick has 15 Top-5’s, 26 Top-10’s, and a slew of come from the rear of the pack to finish strong’s. Harvick currently sits just 5 points behind points-leader Carl Edwards, and is looking for a win to separate himself from the rest of the field for the Sprint Cup. Watch for Harvick to receive some help by way of Paul Menard in taking the checkered on Sunday.

    Dark Horse Pick

    With the two-car tango, any driver who plans on winning the Good Sam Club 500 on Sunday will have to have some help from behind.

    Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick had the two fastest cars on the racetrack yesterday during the EFI testing at Talladega Superspeedway. The tandem ran over 90 laps together, and to me it was practice for Sunday.

    Menard’s history at Talladega is less than impressive with just one finish in the Top-5 after 10 starts at the 2.66-mile monster. His record at Superspeedways in general have been subpar, with an average finish of 21.2 at Dega and Daytona.

    To me, the advantage lies in the testing session yesterday as drivers and crew chiefs alike had their chances to work the bugs out and get a bit more comfortable with the two-car tango. Watch for Menard and Harvick to hook up early and run the majority of the 188 laps on Sunday glued to each other’s bumpers.

    That’s all for this week, as always check me out on Twitter @ML_B_Lo for some less than insightful NASCAR news.

    Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Non-Chasers Excel in Bank Of America 500

    Non-Chasers Excel in Bank Of America 500

    Kasey Kahne

    For the third week in a row, Kasey Kahne has finished in the top-5 among the Chase contenders.  At the beginning of the race, Kahne did not have a great race car.  He complained of “rear-end up and front-end down” handling issues.  After green flag pit stops with 139 laps to go, the No. 4 crew made adjustments to correct the issues.  “Oh yea, it’s going now” Kahne replied to the crew after exiting pit road.  After pit stops, Kahne was in ninth position and was the fastest car on the track.  On the fifth caution of the night, Kahne’s Red Bull crew was able to get him out of the pits in third position, securing him a finish of fourth position.  Kahne won the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award for the Bank of America 500.  Given to the winner of the race, or the next highest finishing driver with the Mobil 1 decal on their race car.  Kasey moved up one spot in standings to 15th position.

    Marcos Ambrose

    Richard Petty Motorsports driver Marcos Ambrose was destined to do well at Charlotte Motor Speedway, having ten top-10 career finishes at intermediate tracks coming into this race.  Ambrose celebrated his fifth top-5 of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night.  Ambrose qualified his Stanley Tools Ford in 12th position and was a front runner throughout the race.  Although there were a few late-race cautions, Ambrose was able to hold his position and stay at the head of the field.  Marcos finished the race in fifth position, his third straight top-10 of the season.  The crew chief of the No. 9 car, Todd Parrott, received the Moog Problem Solver of the Race award.  Given to the crew chief that improves the most from the first half of the race to the second half, utilizing the 40 best laps times(improving 0.155 seconds).  Marcos moved two spots up in the points standings, to 18th position


    AJ Allmendinger

    Although AJ Allmendinger battled handling issues during the race, he was able to keep his Best Buy Ford in the top-10 throughout the night.  On Lap 127 Allmendinger pitted to try and correct these handling issues, but couldn’t quite seem to get it fixed.  AJ remained in the top-10 until just after Lap 200, when he fell to 12th position.  The team remained patient, pitting again under Lap 238 to make more adjustments.  With 100 laps to go, Allmendinger’s No. 43 car came to life, allowing him to finish the race in seventh position.  This marks AJ’s eighth top-10 of the season.  Leaving Charlotte, he rests in 14th position in points standings.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]1. Carl Edwards: Edwards scored his third-straight top-5 finish, posting a third in the Bank Of America 500. Edwards increased his lead in the point standings, and now holds a five-point advantage over Kevin Harvick.

    “A third place when Jimmie Johnson finishes 34th,” Edwards said, “sure feels a lot better than a third place when he finishes first. But if there’s one place to make a huge comeback in the points, it’s Talladega. I just hope I’m still ‘running’ when the race ends. That is, I hope my car is still running at the end.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth at Charlotte, matching his result at Kansas last week, and stayed right on the tail of Carl Edwards, who finished third. Harvick now trails Edwards by five.

    “It’s interesting,” Harvick said, “that the top 2 drivers in the point standings don’t have a single win in the Chase. Dare I say, “Consistency wins championships.” NASCAR doesn’t want to hear that, especially after a Matt Kenseth win.”

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth passed Kyle Busch on a restart with 25 laps to go and cruised to the win in the Bank Of America 500. It was Kenseth’s fourth consecutive top-6 finish, and powered him forward two places in the standings, where he trails Carl Edwards by seven.

    “Please understand if I’m characteristically silent,” Kenseth said. “It’s because I’m thanking my sponsors.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch led a race-high 111 laps at Charlotte, but lost the lead 25 laps from the end when Matt Kenseth nosed by on a restart. Busch held off Carl Edwards down the stretch for second, and improved four places in the point standings to fourth, 18 out of first.

    “I’m certainly pleased,” Busch said. “”I started last after an engine change and still managed a runner-up finish. Obviously, I have better success when I start last than when I start first.

    “Carl and I really battled in the closing laps. As you probably saw, he stuck his head into my car and had a few words for me. I was shocked—that, judging by Carl’s high opinion of himself, that his head would even fit in the car.”

    5. Tony Stewart: Stewart bounced back from two Chase-killing finishes in Dover and Kansas with a ninth at Charlotte, his 14th top-10 result of the year. Stewart is 25 points out of the lead in the point standings with five races remaining.

    “I’ve been declared ‘dead’ and then ‘alive’ more than any Chaser,” Stewart said. “Luckily, I have sponsors for next year, so there’s no danger of anyone pulling the ‘plug’ on me.”

    6. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s wave of momentum after winning at Kansas came to a stunning halt when he slammed the Charlotte Motor Speedway wall 17 laps from the end in the Bank Of America 500. He finished 34th, and  fell from third to eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 35 out of first.

    “That was one heck of an ‘impact,’” Johnson said. “And I hit the wall pretty hard, too.

    “My detractors often say I’m too ‘vanilla.’ Not any more, because I just made the Chase a lot more interesting.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 13th in the Bank Of America 500 and dropped one spot in the Sprint Cup point standings to seventh, 27 out of first.

    “I won’t shed a tear for the plight of Jimmie Johnson,” Busch said. “But I know what he must be feeling. I’ve taken ‘hard rights’ like that before myself. It hurt the next day, mostly in my jaw. But I believe Jimmie will be feeling this for about five weeks.”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski struggled at Charlotte, finishing one lap down in 16th. He fell two places in the point standings to sixth, 25 out of first.

    “I’m 25 off the lead,” Keselowski said, “but only two ahead of my Penske teammate Kurt Busch. We may be too far back to be considered legitimate contenders for the Sprint Cup. That’s okay, because we’re used to being no one’s favorites.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman led six laps at Charlotte and finished tenth, his first top-10 in the last four races. He improved one place to tenth in the point standings and is 61 out of first.

    “I may be out of contention for the Sprint Cup,” Newman said, “but I’ve got a great seat to watch the second half of the Chase develop. There are possibly seven drivers with a chance to win the Cup. It will be interesting to see things unfold, and which drivers fold.”

    10. Jeff Gordon: Gordon was working on a potential top-10 finish when contact with Kasey Kahne sent him for a spin on a lap 43 restart. He finished 21st, and is now 11th in the point standings, 66 out of first.

    “Jimmie Johnson may be down,” Gordon said, “but he’s not out. I guarantee you he’s still visualizing winning the Chase. Jimmie’s still intent on winning an historic sixth-straight Sprint Cup title. He’s thinking ‘margin of victory,’ while most of his detractors are thinking a non-historic ‘marginal victory’ by some first-time Cup winner.”

  • The Flags at Half Mast in the Fourth Turn

    The Flags at Half Mast in the Fourth Turn

    In the process of writing this column about Charlotte and the 5th Chase race the unthinkable happened. The world of motorsports lost a champion and a hero. Somehow, the hush from the TV and the change in tone from Eddie Cheever made the reality of the situation very clear. Marty Reid stumbled over his words. The safety workers on the track had that familiar rush and desperation in their movements. I was taken back to a memory that is still too fresh to revisit. Daytona 2001. But this can’t be happening we have made all these changes. We have stepped up safety and safety management. How can we be looking at the same kind of tragedy?

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]In the process of following motorsports our lines tend to blur. We forget different series different rules. We forget that as much as we may complain and moan about NASCAR’s rules and rulings, they are at the very top of the game in safety. But NASCAR is not safe either. 200 mph in a 3600 lb car that hits an unmovable concrete wall safer barrier or not, and hits it at the right angle, hans device or not, and tragedy can and will result.

    Many NASCAR fans seem to forget this as they cheer loudly when drivers that are not their favorite wreck or are involved in a wreck. Saturday night was a good example. Jimmie Johnson hit the wall at 189 mph dead head on hard enough to lift the car off the ground. Please note the safer barrier didn’t break. It gave as it is suppose to but it didn’t break. What broke was an extremely well built piece of machinery. Although Jimmie climbed out and walked away, the in car camera told the story far better. He continued to slump in the seat and drop his head. He sat slumped forward in the drivers seat for a short time before letting the net down and climbing from the car. He was dazed and seemed turned around as he was lead to the ambulance. Although he was checked and released from the infield care center, Johnson was pale and shook up when he gave his interview.

    The cheers from the stands were gross and tactless. They illustrated not passion for the sport or a driver but ignorance on the part of those who were blind enough not to see how close our sport came to losing a young vibrant champion and hero. After having been there at the loss of too many of my heroes I was sickened and disgusted at the display. How could they not remember Daytona in 2001? How could they not remember New Hampshire in 2000? For God’s sake how could they not remember the waiting for days after Michigan in 1994? The waiting and not knowing for word on Ernie Irvan. How could they possibly behave like this? My answer came from a source that often supplies my answers, because they weren’t there. Because they are too ignorant to understand that these guys can be gone in the blink of an eye. Because many though they claim to be life long fans of the sport were not fans in 2001 or were not old enough to grasp what happened. To them the names Dale Earnhardt, Ernie Irvan, Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Steve Irwin and Adam Petty are historical. They weren’t there. They don’t understand the loss of a hero and a champion.

    IndyCar fans had been spared the loss of a hero since 2006. Sheltered much like NASCAR fans with the reassurances of the sanctioning body that the cars were safe. The tracks were safe. The drivers and fans were safe. A misconception that NASCAR and IndyCar promoted and encouraged. But it’s still a misconception. A dangerous lulling into complacent behavior and lack of concern on the part of fans and drivers a like.

    Drivers who allow their tempers to control their behavior and use a 3600 lb car as a weapon have bought into that complacency. Fans who cheer when a driver hits the wall have bought into that complacency. People regardless of who they are or what form of motorsports they follow who believe that the sport is safe are niave and unfortunately stupid.

    NASCAR was fortunate, our champion is sore and bruised but he will race again at Talladega. IndyCar was not so fortunate and they mourn the loss of one of their champions in Dan Wheldon. It is time for those of us who buy tickets and t-shirts to say to our sanctioning bodies lets look at it again. Are we truly doing everything we can do to keep our heroes safe? In NASCAR is a car with no down force and too high of a center of gravity the best we can do? Is the risk at Talladega worth it? If we are going to spend millions of dollars on something shouldn’t it be making the cars race able around other cars? And shouldn’t the drivers be the ones to tell us that the cars are race able since they drive them? IndyCar needs to take responsibility and make conscious decisions about the type of tracks they race on and what does and doesn’t constitute safe race conditions.

    It’s much to soon to point fingers and find blame. We may never know who is to blame. In truth it doesn’t matter who is to blame the price is the same. The time is here to give thanks for the good fortune of one young champion and ask for the blessings and love and comfort for the family of another. The time is here to examine our behavior and our actions and ask ourselves, how would I have felt if the out come was different in Charlotte? Allow me to be the source of that answer, It hurts people It hurts like hell.

    ~~~~~ **** ~~~~~

    Congratulations to Carl Edwards on his NNS win at Charlotte. Even with a wrecked car Carl showed that although Ducks prefer to swim they have wings and can fly.

    Congratulations to Ron Hornaday on his 51st win. More and more I am convinced that the Camping World Truck series will be a lesser place without Ron Hornaday on the track.

    Congratulations to Matt Kenseth on his victory in the Sprint Cup Series.

    It is with a heavy and sad heart that I wish Susie Wheldon and her sons all of the strength and support and love that the world can offer her.  Thoughts and prayers are with you.

    Also thoughts and prayers and sympathies to the family of Off-road Champion Rick Huseman and his brother Jeff  who died in a plane crash this afternoon in Barstow.

    At times like these this means perhaps more than I intend for it to mean every week. To all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    At a track where passing is difficult, his second place starting position was pivotal. While other drivers had problems, Kenseth kept himself in a position to capitalize on their misfortune.

    Tony Stewart was competitive at the beginning of the race but lost the handling on his car about halfway through the race. Stewart wasn’t able to contend for the win but was still able to salvage an eight place finish. He also gained two spots in the points and is now in fifth place.

    Greg Biffle was also fast early in the race but a missing lug nut during a pit stop put him one lap down.  Although he regained the lap, a late race scuffle with Stewart and a subsequent cut tire left Biffle with a fifteenth place finish.

    Trevor Bayne had a strong top ten car throughout the race but a problem with a fuel cell caused him to run out of gas and go three laps down.

    Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson provided the biggest surprise of the night.  Johnson, who was racing for seventh position, crashed into the wall on lap 317 and destroyed the No. 48 Chevy, ending his night. Johnson dropped five positions in the points standings to eighth place, 35 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

    When asked about the impact this would have on his quest for a sixth championship, Johnson said, “We just have to keep racing. That’s all there is to it. There’s five races left and a lot can happen in five races.”

    Matt Kenseth has been steadily gaining ground and now sits third in the points standings.   He was all smiles after the race.

    “I’m happy to have won, obviously.” Kenseth continued, “I’m always thankful to get to victory lane. You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is, and I’m certainly thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 47
    2 25 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 44
    3 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42
    4 8 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 40
    5 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 39
    6 14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
    7 4 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 37
    8 1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 37
    9 17 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 35
    10 6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 35
    11 11 6 David Ragan Ford 34
    12 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 32
    13 20 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 31
    14 32 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 31
    15 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 30
    16 26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 28
    17 7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 27
    18 28 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 26
    19 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 25
    20 31 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 24
    21 23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 23
    22 38 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 23
    23 18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 21
    24 19 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 20
    25 21 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 19
    26 29 0 David Reutimann Toyota 18
    27 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 17
    28 30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    29 22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 15
    30 42 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    31 10 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    32 24 13 Casey Mears Toyota 12
    33 41 71 Hermie Sadler Ford 0
    34 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 11
    35 35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 33 34 David Gilliland Ford 8
    37 13 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 7
    38 43 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 6
    39 37 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
    40 34 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    41 36 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 3
    42 40 277 Andy Lally * Ford 2
    43 39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0