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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
Matty’s Picks: Wonderful Pistachios 400 Vol. 17 – Richmond – September 10, 2011

[media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It all comes down to this! The regular season will officially come to a close and the post-season will officially begin after the dust settles Saturday Night.

Officially, nine of 12 tickets to this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup have been given out, with a record 14 drivers still in the hunt for one of the three remaining spots in The Chase. Previously, the most drivers mathematically eligible for one of the unclaimed spots in The Chase for the Sprint Cup heading into Richmond was seven, dating back to 2005.

If you’re wondering if your driver has a guaranteed spot on The Chase stage, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Newman are all guaranteed spots in the Top-10 for the first race of the 2011 Chase. These drivers will also receive bonus points in The Chase for their winning efforts during the first 26 races of the season.

The other driver who has a guarantee from NASCAR to put his toys in the box this year is Brad Keselowski. Keselowski has made his position known by way of his three wins on the season, two of which coming in the last five races. In the words of my high school wrestling coach, “Matty, it’s not always about being good all the time, but being good at the RIGHT time.” Keselowski has been on a roll heading into The Chase, finishing outside the top-three just once in the past five races.

Atlanta Recap

Rain, Rain, Go Away! was the tune sang last week in Atlanta, after the Sprint Cup race had to be postponed from Sunday evening until Tuesday morning. At a racetrack known for close finishes, the race Tuesday was nothing short of what was expected out of a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

My winner pick fought diligently to take the lead about ¾ through the race, but fell a half-second short of victory to race-winner Jeff Gordon on lap 325. Jimmie Johnson rolled off the starting grid in 17th place on Tuesday, and threw the book at his car in an effort to make it drive better.

“The first two runs the car was pretty bad. And Chad made some great adjustments on pit road to get the car in the track to where I could carry any speed in and through the center and then use the throttle off. Before that I was on ice and couldn’t drive the car” said Johnson following his runner-up finish.

Johnson was even in the lead with 50 to go, but finally surrendered the lead to a charging Jeff Gordon, who really had the car to beat on Tuesday Afternoon. Still, I can not complain about a second-place finish following my blunder just two weeks ago at Bristol.

My Dark Horse pick handed me my worst finish of the year on Tuesday. A 36th place finish was what I had to show for a Dark Horse pick last week due to an accident involving Juan Montoya and my pick, Clint Bowyer on lap 243.

Bowyer earned his career-best starting position for the race Tuesday morning by laying down an absolutely flawless lap on Saturday, good enough to start second. For the majority of the first half of the race, Bowyer was a staple in the Top-10, but after contact with Montoya on lap 243, Bowyer found himself waiting in the garage while the “Helping Hands” pit crew worked diligently to get the No. 33 Chevrolet back in racing order.

Bowyer had this to say about the incident with Montoya: “We had a really good Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet today and got wrecked by another competitor who was racing stupid and not showing any patience. It sounds like we are going to have to win next week to make the Chase for (the NASCAR Sprint Cup) and we run well in Richmond. We had a top-10 car this weekend and I expect us to have one in Richmond. This team isn’t going down without a fight.”

Richmond Picks

This week, I will do something I’ve yet to do this season with Matty’s picks…pick a driver two weeks in a row. I might get some backlash for doing it, but its really the right thing to do this week.

Winner Pick

My winner pick this week was my Dark Horse last week and is the guy to beat this week not only because of his history at RIR, but for the passion he will be driving with on Saturday night.

Clint Bowyer stands on the outside looking in on The Chase for the Sprint Cup now in 14th place heading into the race Saturday Night. He lost two spots with his finish last week at Atlanta and is hungry to show that he deserves to race for the Sprint Cup this year. He needs to win Saturday night to make the last 10 races meaningful this season, and needs help (not in a positive way) from Denny Hamlin if he has any chance of making The Chase.

6th place seems to be Bowyer’s favorite finishing spot the past few years at RIR, with three 6th place finishes in the past four races at the track. He did have the opportunity to visit Victory Lane at Richmond in May of 2009, and boasts a 9.5 average finish at RIR.

Bowyer may be a ringer pick for the race Saturday night, and judging by his practice speeds earlier today, he will make things interesting not only in the 400-lap race, but for the last few covenanted spots in The Chase.

Dark Horse Pick

My Dark Horse pick is also a guy who needs a win plus some help from other drivers to make the 2011 Chase field. Marcos Ambrose has one win this year already, and sits just outside the Top-20 in points in 21st position.

In order to be a part of the Chase field, Marcos Ambrose would have to win the Wonderful Pistachios 400 Saturday Night, but also enter the Top-20 in the points standings to seal up the second and final Wild Card spot this season.

Now, the driver sitting 20th in points seems to be little to no threat to win Saturday night, as he has yet to finish any better than 16th at the D-shaped short-track, a positive statistic for Ambrose. Marcos Ambrose sits seven points behind Menard in 21st, but a win out of him and an average finish from Paul Menard would give him enough of a points gain to end up in a Wild Card spot for The Chase.

Ambrose is hungry to show he belongs among NASCAR’s elite with a spot in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. He does have two Top-10’s at Richmond, including a 5th-place finish last year in this exact race. I know it may seem like a real long-shot, but I’ve seen stranger things happen…

This wraps up the regular season for Matty’s Picks, but stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the start of the Chase and my picks for Chicagoland.

Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

September 9, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta AdvoCare 500

With a rain delay of days instead of hours, the NASCAR Sprint Cup race which was to have run at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday evening of the Labor Day weekend, was finally completed on Tuesday afternoon. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 52^nd annual AdvoCare 500.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Surprising: While one five-time champion Hendrick Motor Sports driver is usually the one peaking at this stage of the season, it was most surprising that the other HMS four-time champion instead took the checkered flag for the multi-day rain-delayed race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, beat out his teammate to score an historic 85^th victory, placing him solely in the third position of all-time wins in NASCAR.

This was Gordon’s third victory for the season and his 13^th top-10 finish in 2011.

“This team is on a roll,” Gordon said. “I don’t care if it’s Sunday or Monday or Tuesday; to have a race like that, man, that’s awesome. It feels awesome.”

Gordon was also feeling awesome by making history, in addition to celebrating his daughter Ella’s first day of school.

“I just feel rejuvenated in such a big way,” Gordon said. “85 yeah! I can’t wait to get home and celebrate with these guys and my family. 85, wow!”

Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was the one nipping at Gordon’s heels, careening sideways behind his teammate to take the checkered flag in the runner up position.

This was Johnson’s 13^th top-10 finish in 20 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“Man, that is what racing is all about,” Johnson said. “I am grateful that I got to grow up racing off-road trucks and buggies because I was dead sideways those last 10 or 15 laps.”

Since the Chase is looming with just the Richmond race to set the championship field, it was also not surprising to see Johnson take the points lead, now 21 points ahead of Kyle Busch.

When asked about that, Johnson said with a smile and a laugh, “Yeah, we’re just having a terrible year. So, hopefully we can pick things up a little bit.”

Surprising: Two drivers who were having much-needed good runs ended up with surprisingly bad finishes. Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, got into it with Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 241, dashing Bowyer’s hopes for any Chase possibilities with his 36^th place finish.

“We’re out here racing for a spot in the Chase,” Bowyer said after being released from the infield care center. “He’s out here racing for nothing.”

“I’m tired of it,” Bowyer continued of his tussle with JPM. “He’s just an idiot.”

The other driver with a surprisingly good run but bad finish was David Ragan, behind the wheel of the No. 6 UPS Ford. Ragan, also hoping to make the Chase, was running in the top ten for much of the race, only to fall victim to engine failure.

“I bet there’s still a mathematical chance that we could win Richmond and get into the top 20 and make the Chase,” Ragan said optimistically. “And that’s certainly the mindset we’re going to have.”

“We’re not going to give up no matter what.”

Not Surprising: Both Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart held serve on their ninth and tenth place positions respectively in the point standings.

While the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet had an outstanding run, finishing third, the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Military Intelligence/Amp Energy Chevrolet had an unsurprisingly tough run, finishing 19^th.

This was Stewart’s 15^th top-10 finish in 25 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“It was just a really good Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy,” Smoke said. “It was a long day for sure and we battled a lot of adversity to get up there. I’m just really proud of these guys.”

“It was not a good day,” Junior said in contrast. “We didn’t have a good car.”

“We worked on it a little bit and had a couple decent runs where we were competitive, but just fought the car all day long and just couldn’t make anything happen.”

Both drivers can clinch positions in the Chase for the Cup championship at the next race in Richmond. Stewart will clinch if he finishes 18^th or better, 19^th or better and leads one lap, or 20^th or better and leads the most laps.

Earnhardt, Jr. will clinch is he finishes 20^th or better, 21^st or better and leads at least one lap, or 22^nd or better and leads the most laps.

Surprising: After leading laps and looking like a race win contender, it was surprising to see the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion slide back after one of the race’s rain delays to finish ninth.

“After the rain, we didn’t do anything to the car,” Matt Kenseth said. “We just put a set of tires on it and it was junk.”

“I don’t really know what happened,” Kenseth continued. “We had a lot of speed and it was pretty fast the first half of the race, but we just struggled after that.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising, yet again, to see Brad Keselowski continue his ‘Iron Man’ performance since injuring himself in a testing wreck. The driver of the ‘Blue Deuce’ finished sixth, locking himself into the Chase.

Surprising: In addition to the race winners, there were other winners at Atlanta as well. First and foremost were all of the children battling cancer that were featured on Carl Edward’s car. In their honor, the driver of the No. 99 Aflac ‘Friends of a Feather’, finished top-five.

“We appreciate Aflac being on board with the Aflac Cancer Center,” Edwards said. “It’s Aflac.com/friends if you want to help these kids out.”

“These are great kids,” Edwards continued. “We wish we would have gotten a win for them, but it was a good run.”

Another winner was Huckleberry Pets, who scored the ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ title thanks to Tony Stewart’s great run.

“It was great to get Huckleberry Pets the title today,” Stewart said. “I wish we could have won her a million dollars, but we did the best we could.”

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, but not surprising, no one claimed the Sprint Summer Showdown bonus. While several drivers were eligible to win a million for themselves, their charities and their respective fans, not one was able to score the ultimate promotion.

Sadly, fans Andrea Gay, Helene Cross, Ron Rempinski, Dana Hardie, and Molly Hilyard did not find their Sprint pot of gold since Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch respectively did not take the checkered flag at Atlanta.

Surprising: In a surprising driver swap, Mike Skinner actually got to finish a race, and did so solidly in 27^th place. Skinner climbed into the No. 36 Collective Soul/Golden Corral Chevrolet for Dave Blaney who was suffering from kidney stones.

Not Surprising: A.J. Allmendinger continued his solid run streak, this time with a 10^th place finish in his No. 43 Best Buy Ford.

“That’s where we are as a team right now,” Allmendinger said. “We’re about an eighth to a 12^th or 13^th place race team, but that’s better than where we had been, so that’s the improvement I’m looking for.”

“If we can just keep getting there, whether we make the Chase or not, then I’ll be really happy with the season.”

September 7, 2011
Matty’s Picks: AdvoCare 500 Vol. 16 – Atlanta – September 4, 2011

We make our only trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway this Labor Day Weekend, a track where in 1995, the late Dale Earnhardt drove his No. 3 to victory in a race time of 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 3 seconds. That might just be my coolest “quirky fact” yet for Matty’s Picks.

[media-credit name=”atlantamotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”152″][/media-credit]Atlanta has no characteristic of being dominated by one or a few drivers as 7 different drivers have won this race the past 10 years, repeat winners being; defending race winner Tony Stewart (2010 & 2006), Carl Edwards(2005 & 2008), and Jimmie Johnson (2007 & 2004).

For the first time in 50 years, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will visit Atlanta Motor Speedway just once in the 2011 campaign. Atlanta forfeited its spring race this season to yield an opening in the 36-race schedule for its brother, Kentucky Speedway. Being one of the original NASCAR superspeedways, the track has traditionally drawn two races to the Peach State but with just one weekend on the schedule this year, you can be sure that the fans will pack the grandstands when the lights come on Sunday night.

Bristol Recap

For the first time since The Brickyard, I didn’t pick a driver that finished inside the Top 10, so in turn my Bristol recap will be rather brief.

Before his troubles last Wednesday night in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in Thunder Valley, Kyle Busch had won the previous 5 NASCAR events at Bristol Motor Speedway. His prior dominance in all three major NASCAR series at BMS was my basis for picking him as my Winner Pick last week.

Busch struggled for the majority of the weekend, (besides the Nationwide Series race Friday night) and his troubles carried into the race on Saturday. His car was NEVER good last weekend, and really drove the wheels off his Doublemint Camry to try and say in the Top 10. Busch eventually would come home 14th and had this to say about his troubles:

“Kind of a disappointing day, but proud of the guys. We never gave up, but we just never could get the car to where it would feel like it had in the past. That’s kind of what we struggled with all weekend — just not being able to get that special Bristol feel.”

As for my Dark Horse pick last week, he fared a bit better than Kyle Busch but still failed to finish inside the Top 10 by just one spot.

Kasey Kahne found himself one lap down just past the midway point in the race, but was fast enough to stay just behind the leaders and catch the lucky dog, putting him back on the lead lap.

Kahne started at the tail of the field and was able to work his way through a bit of traffic after the Lucky Dog, and was able to secure an 11th place finish for his efforts. The finish boosted him two spots in the points standings and he spoke after the race:

“We worked on the balance of the car all evening. Luckily, we got the lucky dog and were able to work our way up to 11th at the finish. The finish moved us up two spots in the points, which is great with two races left to get in the Chase. We head to Atlanta next week, which is one of my favorite tracks so looking forward to that.”

Atlanta Picks

Without a spring race at Atlanta this year, I will be turning to some statistics from prior seasons as well as results from the first race at AMS’ twin sister, Texas Motor Speedway. Texas was modeled after its big brother in 1996, and produces extremely similar racing to AMS with its 24-degrees of banking and corner-entry speeds over 200 MPH.

Winner Pick

This week, I’d like to please my girlfriend again by picking her favorite driver. I’m trying to score some brownie points with her after ditching her this Labor Day Weekend to head to South Bend, Indiana to fulfill a dream I’ve had for quite some time. I will be attending my first football game at Notre Dame Stadium as my beloved Fighting Irish take on the Bulls from the University of South Florida.

At least my girlfriend’s favorite driver has some history at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is extremely familiar with Victory Lane at the track. Jimmie Johnson has 3 wins at AMS and an average finish just outside the Top 10 at 10.4. He finished 3rd in this race last year, but his last win at Atlanta came in October of 2007, the year he swept both Sprint Cup races at AMS.

Johnson finished 8th at Texas earlier this year, and will probably go down as the best Intermediate Track drivers in NASCAR history. He has tallied 37 of his 54 victories on Intermediate Tracks and averages a Top 10 in all combined races on 1.5 mile courses, a no-brainer pick I would say.

Dark Horse Pick

My dark horse pick is desperate for a win here late in the season, and Atlanta is a place I feel he has a good shot at doing it. Clint Bowyer sits 12th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, but with zero wins would find himself on the outside looking in for the last 10 races of the season.

As it stands now without Bowyer having a win, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin would seal the two Wild Card spots, moving Bowyer aside. Atlanta is a place that Bowyer enjoys racing at as it brings him back to his days of Dirt racing in the Midwest. Atlanta’s slick, high-banked corners make turning though the corners similar to that of driving on Dirt.

Bowyer scored a Top 10 in this race last year with his 7th place finish, his 5th at AMS, but has failed to finish inside the Top 5 at Atlanta. Bowyer finished second earlier this season at Texas, and has fire in his belly for a win this weekend. Bowyer is looking for a win in the worst kind of way and he might just do it Sunday night.

That’s all for this edition of Matty’s Picks. As a quick side note, I’m extremely excited for the 2011 College Football season to start this weekend. I’ll be watching my Alma Matter, West Virginia University take on the Marshall Thundering Herd this Sunday afternoon in preparation for the race Sunday Night.

Until next week…LETS GOOO MOUNTAINEERS!

September 2, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

Irish eyes were smiling in the hills surrounding Michigan International Speedway, keeping the rain which had plagued the last two Cup races, at bay. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 42^nd annual running of the Pure Michigan 400.

[media-credit name=”Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Surprising: Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, could not have summed up the surprisingly bad day for his manufacturer and team any more succinctly.

With a surprisingly uncharacteristic engine failure, Edwards was Ford’s worst finisher at Michigan, a track where not only has Ford excelled but where Roush Fenway Racing has traditionally had free reign to play at the front of the field.

“I thought we would have a Ford in Victory Lane,” Edwards said. “I thought one way or another, we would win this thing.”

“It was a very tough race,” Edwards said. “We weren’t expecting a failure like that.”

Edwards lagged behind his Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth, who finished in 10^th in the No. 17 Kroger Ford Fusion; David Ragan, driving the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion, who brought home a 12^th place finish; and pole sitter Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, who finished a disappointing 20^th after leading the most laps in the race.

Biffle was as surprised by his disappointing finish as his teammate Edwards was of his finish and engine failure.

“I don’t know what happened,” Biffle said. “I have a feeling we kinda got a bum set of tires and then we got off on our adjustments. I really don’t know what happened.”

Not Surprising: After being ever so close to Victory Lane at both Pocono and Watkins Glen, it was no surprise that the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota outran a five-time champ in a green-white-checkered finish to finally took the checkered flag and made his trademark celebratory bow.

This victory was Kyle Busch’s first at Michigan International Speedway. It was his fifth top-10 finish in 14 races at Michigan.

“Today the car was flawless,” Busch said. “We knew the restart would be treacherous but I got a good run on the top-side and I was able to take the lead off Turn Two and set our sights on the checkered flag from there.”

With his fourth victory of the season, including this win at the Irish hills, Busch was also the first driver to officially clinch his berth in the championship Chase. And with Edwards’ poor finish, Busch now sits alone at the top of the leader board.

“It feels awesome,” Busch said of his guaranteed Chase spot. “It gives us an added bonus to just go out there and race for wins. We certainly feel good about it.”

Surprising: Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, continues to surprise all by starring in his own sequel, ‘Iron Man Part Three.’ Keselowski finished third in the Pure Michigan 400, his third straight top-three finish since breaking his ankle and wrenching his back in a testing crash.

This was Keselowski’s first top-10 finish in five races at Michigan. With his finish, Keselowski also moved ever so close to Chase contention, moving up two positions in the point standings to 12^th.

“It was a good effort,” Keselowski said. “It was a great day, with great execution and I’m proud of my team.”

“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Keselowski said of his Chase chances. “I feel better every week.”

Not Surprising: With the Chase race heating up, it is no surprise that the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet has found his groove, as well as his lucky horseshoe. Jimmie Johnson, who like Busch has also never won at Michigan, scored a career-best second place finish.

This was Johnson’s eighth top-10 finish in 20 races in the Irish hills. It is also his 15^th top-10 finish in the 2011 season to date.

“It was a great finish for the Lowe’s team,” Johnson said. “We had a tough start to the race on pit road and on the race track but we got that ironed out.”

“Good runs put so much confidence in the driver and the team,” Johnson continued. “It felt good to be racing with the leader and have a shot at it.”

Surprising: Although Stewart-Haas Racing had a surprisingly good day at Michigan, with Ryan Newman finishing fifth in his No. 39 Wix Filters Chevrolet, and team owner Tony Stewart also finishing top ten in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, the latter seemed surprisingly depressed after the race.

“I don’t know what we got to do to get one balanced for a day but we haven’t figured it out yet,” Stewart said. “We were on both sides of the coin today between tight and loose.”

“I’ll be perfectly honest at this stage in the deal if we’re going to run this bad, it really doesn’t matter if we make the Chase or not,” Smoke continued. “Our stuff’s so bad right now we’re wasting one of those top 12 spots.”

Not Surprising: On the flip side, it was no surprise to see the Hendrick Motorsports gang have a good day on the sweeping turns of Michigan International Speedway. Following closely behind runner up Jimmie Johnson, HMS teammate Mark Martin finished fourth in the No. 5 Carquest/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

“It’s an incredible privilege to drive stuff like that,” Martin said. “We were right there and could see the lead and anytime you can see the lead, you feel like you have a crack at it. I feel very fortunate.”

HMS four-time champ Jeff Gordon also had a decent day at the office, finishing sixth in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, moving up another spot in the point standings to sixth as well. Gordon also made history, marking over 22,000 laps led in his career.

“All in all, a solid day for the Dupont Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “I loved the effort and the cars and team that we are bringing to the race track. It was a lot of fun out there.”

The final driver, piloting the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet for Mr. Hendrick, had a fairly good race as well. In spite of pit problems, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished fourteenth, keeping himself solidly in the ninth spot in the Chase standings.

“I had some awesome runs and the car was really fast,” Junior said. “And then I put on some tires and I couldn’t drive the car. We had some bad stuff happen on pit road, but we drove it back up there.”

Surprising: With a starting spot of fourth, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota had high hopes for redemption in Michigan, as well as the hope of keeping his Chase chances alive. Surprisingly, in spite of Denny Hamlin’s new engine, he struggled throughout the race, hitting the wall and heading to the garage to repair significant right front suspension damage.

Hamlin finished the race in 35^th and lost two positions in the point standings, falling to a disappointing 14^th, barely hanging on to any chances of a Chase berth.

Not Surprising: Coming off his top-10 finish at the Glen, it was not surprising that A J Allmendinger almost pulled off another one at MIS. The driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports powered through the field from his 29^th place start to finish 11^th.

Surprising: On the flip side, the Dinger’s teammate Marcos Ambrose, winner of the Cup race at Watkins Glen last weekend and the Nationwide race in Montreal this weekend, had a surprisingly frustrating day.

The driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion started out strong but then was tagged from behind by Kevin Harvick while trying to pit, shoving his car head first into the pit wall, relegating him to a 27^th place finish.

“That was frustrating,” Ambrose said. “We had a good car and we were top-10 a lot of the day.”

“We just kept getting tighter and tighter,” Ambrose continued. “We had a hole in the grill. That really hurt us and we ended up turned around in the pit there at the end, so that hurt us too.”

Not Surprising: Although the driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet qualified poorly and started 35^th, it was no surprise to see him drive as hard as he could to a top-ten finish. With Clint Bowyer’s 8^th place finish at Michigan, he has managed to hang on to the 11^th spot in the Chase standings.

“It was a good, hard fought battle all day long,” Bowyer said of his race. “From where we started, starting 35^th, getting up there in the top ten, we had a good car all day long.”

“We gained but not near enough. We’re running out of time but if we keep digging, who knows what’s going to happen.”

August 21, 2011
Clint Bowyer Has One Word for 200th Career Start: Pride

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, is set to mark a milestone in his career. He will make his 200^th Sprint Cup career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Lenox Tools 301 this weekend.

“200 races means a lot to me,” Bowyer said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity just to be in this sport.”

[media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”201″][/media-credit]Bowyer’s milestone also had him thinking about his first race in the Cup Series in Phoenix.

“To think back to Phoenix and what that race meant to me and to now,” Bowyer said. “It truly meant a lot to my career.”

“That race is what led to all of this,” Bowyer continued. “I’m just thankful for all the opportunities along the way and I’m trying to make the most of them.”

Does the 200^th start make the young driver feel just a tad bit old?

“No, it doesn’t make me feel old”, Bowyer said with a laugh. “But it does make you realize how fast time flies.”

“200 races, it’s like ‘Holy cow, already?’, Bowyer continued. “It’s just amazing how fast things happen.”

Bowyer will definitely have to try to make the most of his achievement, especially at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with whom he seems to have a love/hate relationship.

NHMS was the site of Bowyer’s first ever Cup win, however, it was also be the beginning of the end of his Chase chances last year, when he suffered a lethal penalty that put him dead last in the Chase standings.

“Probably the best moment in my career was right here in New Hampshire with my first win,” Bowyer said. “And probably the worst was having that penalty right here.”

Although Bowyer has run well at the track in the past, he is not taking anything for granted for his upcoming race this weekend.

“We’ve always run well in a short flat-track program,” Bowyer said. “But there’s nothing saying that we’re not going to bring that same recipe back that we did last year and find that same success.”

“We’re going to have to work hard,” Bowyer continued. “And we’re going to have to find a good balance on our race car.”

“But it seems like it’s easier to find that balance for us on a track like this.”

Can the RCR driver put aside the penalty that he suffered the last time he was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway?

“It is what it is,” Bowyer said philosophically. “It doesn’t matter. It’s behind me.”

In fact, Bowyer is more worried about what happened to him last weekend at Kentucky than what he endured the last time he ran a race in New Hampshire. Bowyer had a terrible run in Kentucky, cutting a tire and wrecking in the waning laps of the race, finishing miserably in the 35^th position.

“It’s frustrating to have to come back here and answer questions about last year because I’m worried about last week and overcoming last week; forget about last year,” Bowyer said.

Yet Bowyer is trying to put his bad week in his rear view mirror, especially in light of his 200^th start milestone.

“It can very easily become a negative and spiral out of control,” Bowyer said. “But there are so many positives about our season. We’ve run well and that’s what has put us in this situation.”

Bowyer’s situation is that he is now 12^th in points and battling mightily to make the Chase to contend for the 2011 NASCAR Cup championship.

“This is a crucial time for us,” Bowyer said. “We’ve got them breathing down our necks.”

“But I tell you, with this crazy wildcard thing, this is a good track for us to get a win and solidify ourselves in the Chase,” Bowyer continued. “So, it’s an important weekend for sure.”

Bowyer is definitely viewing his 200^th career start as a chance to redeem himself and his race team. And for Bowyer, he wants to do so not just for himself but also his fans.

“This is a chance to redeem myself absolutely,” Bowyer said. “You see a guy with a shirt on their back and it’s a sense of pride as well as responsibility for me.”

“I look to go out there and run well for them and make them proud,” Bowyer continued.

Bowyer was fastest in practice but could not quite pull off a pole run. He qualified 12th, with a speed of 133.595 mph and a time of 28.540 seconds.

“New Hampshire has always been a great place for us to come,” Bowyer said. “The best thing is all the fans and all the people I have met over the years.”

“Those relationships you’ll have with you the rest of your life and will mean the most to you,” Bowyer continued. “It makes me focus on this next race to make sure there is another 200 races after that.”

July 15, 2011
Ten Ways NASCAR Can Improve Tandem Racing

Debates started last year about the likability of two by two racing that is now occurring at both Daytona and Talladega on the NASCAR superspeedway circuit. Some tolerate it and others despise it, particularly fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has taken to calling it “foolish racing.”

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]So, what can NASCAR do about this kind of racing? While the sanctioning body could follow Jack Roush’s advice to “fix the front and the back of the car so if they have contact, there is an inclined angle that would drive the rear wheels off the ground to stop it,” there are indeed some other possibilities.

Here are ten ways that NASCAR could improve the two by two racing that has become the norm at restrictor plate tracks.

10. Since some have dubbed the style “Noah’s Ark racing”, with the two by twoing like the animals trudging onto the ark before the flood, NASCAR should definitely have the drivers come out two by two for driver introductions.

Most drivers acknowledge that they have already paired up prior to the event. But just in case the fans are not aware of the duos, NASCAR could really spice up the driver intros by having them come out in their pairings, one in front and one behind, to build suspense as to who is partnering with whom. Then the drivers could separate for the big ‘tandem reveal.’

Better yet, instead of some of those cheesy driver intro stagings where drivers come out to wild music or crazy drumming, NASCAR could literally build an ark and have the tandem pairings appear together out of that.

NASCAR may just have to keep the drumming for that style driver introduction or at least consult with Humpy Wheeler, retired track promoter extraordinaire, for some suitable side effects.

9. Since one of the biggest complaints regarding tandem racing is the inability of driver of the push car to see, NASCAR should encourage a new activity for the fans in the Fan Zone, that of making cardboard periscopes.

The sponsors, such as Home Depot and General Mills, ought to be all over this one. Home Depot could supply the building materials and General Mills, who has already done a special Wheaties cereal box promo with driver Clint Bowyer, could provide the cardboard boxes (for those old enough to remember the cardboard cereal box periscopes, this one is a no brainer).

Fans could make the periscopes as a fun-filled race day activity and the best fan concoction could be presented to each pushing driver at driver introductions.

Just in case NASCAR needs some advice on how to build these cardboard up periscopes, here is a helpful link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Periscope/.

8. Again, since NASCAR is trying to engage new fans in the racing experience, another fan promotion could be encouraged at tandem race tracks, that of honorary pit crew stenciler.

One of the biggest issues that has now evolved with this form of racing is that the manufacturer’s brand name is being rubbed off the front and back bumpers of the race cars. To solve that concern, each manufacturer could have a fan contest to select fans that could very quickly, in 13 seconds or less, stencil the names back on the cars during the pit stops.

This would not only encourage brand identity, but would also get the fans involved in a whole different aspect of the sport. And there would be no better way than brand stenciling to get up close and personal with the race team.

7. Speaking of brand identity, while this may not make the racing any more exciting but to appeal to the adult fans in the crowd, NASCAR may just have to invite one of its primary sponsors, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, back to the track for a special cigarette promotion. After all, the ‘friends with benefits’ type racing may just necessitate a bit of a short smoke break after the intense on-the-track coupling experiences.

6. NASCAR may also need to make a change to address the fact that there is inherently an odd number of cars on the track, with 43 starters.

So, to increase interest, the last car qualified in should get to select a car from outside the field with whom to partner. Just think how interesting this past weekend’s race could have been if Joe Nemechek had selected say Kyle Petty or Rusty Wallace or even better yet Danica Patrick as his wing person.

5. In the interest of interest as well as safety, it would also behoove NASCAR to install the back up beeping devices in every race car. In this way, fans at the track and at home would hear the beep, beep, beeping and immediately know who is backing up in the field to find their tandem partners.

Not only can fans and announcers alike track the cars going forward, but all could keep track of those purposefully dragging their brakes to find the second half of their particular dynamic duo throughout the race and especially on those fateful restarts.

4. Another way to involve the fans that NASCAR should consider for this style of racing is to allow a lucky fan at home to do the spotting for their particular race tandem. This would eliminate the wacky practice of having the pushee driver in the front’s spotter take over the spotting duties for the tandem.

Heck, most of the drivers were confused anyway about who was in their ears from the perches high above on the spotters’ stand so one more weird voice should not be too disconcerting. And it would most certainly liven up the action for all stuck at home unable to attend the race for whatever reason.

3. Since the two car tandem style of racing has also been compared to the tango, NASCAR should insist that the dancing pairs perform at least one dip together below the yellow line at some point during the race. Additional points toward the Chase may also be awarded for style, control, and degree of difficulty of the dance by visiting NASCAR officials of the day Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Toniolli.

2. One of the most intriguing ways that NASCAR could make the tandem racing more interesting is to utilize the now defunct qualifying draw to select a very special surprise.

Just as in days of old, the driver, crew chief or team designee would need to visit the NASCAR spinning ball area outside of the famed NASCAR hauler to select their number.

But instead of determining the qualifying order, a random number will be designated for that the one special team that will get super glue instead of Vaseline or Pam on their car on the very last pit stop of the race.

Won’t that be an interesting twist for whoever decides to hook up with that particular car at the tail end of an upcoming Daytona or Talladega race?

1. The final way that NASCAR could make the tandem racing more interesting is to approach it all strictly as the square dance that it truly is. Each tandem racing pair should be instructed prior to the race to carefully monitor the NASCAR channel for their calling instructions.

Drivers will be instructed to “Circle Left, Come Down the Middle, and Do Sa Do.” But the best part will be when NASCAR, sometime during the race but hopefully in the second green, white, checkered attempt, will call “Partner Trade” and the cars will have to scramble to find a whole new partner for the race finale.

Oh, but that already happened this past race weekend, didn’t it?

God bless tandem racing and God bless NASCAR. See you next in Talladega!

July 4, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

With firecrackers sparkling, patriotism soaring and flags flying high in celebration of the July 4^th holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”261″][/media-credit]Surprising: Sentimental favorite Trevor Bayne and points leader Carl Edwards both surprisingly had a world of trouble at the world center of racing.

Bayne, piloting the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford, was making his triumphant return to the superspeedway after winning the Daytona 500 and then having to get out of the car for a bit as a result of a never-diagnosed illness.

The young driver’s high hopes were dashed early, when he was turned by Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, on Lap 5 of the race. Bayne and team were unable to repair the car and he finished 41^st.

“I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he (Keselowski) kind of came up across our bumper, but, either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent us spinning,” Bayne said. “You know that can happen here.”

“It happens all the time, but it’s tough that it was our car,” Bayne continued. “I hate tearing up a good race car. If I didn’t have my faith and everything else right now, that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

Bayne was not the only one that had a tough night. Points leader coming into the race Carl Edwards had his hands full as well behind the wheel of the No. 99 Subway Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

Edwards was running third, being pushed by teammate Greg Biffle, when he hit the wall on lap 23. Edwards’ car was severely damaged, allowing fumes to get into the car and sickening the driver.

While Edwards did get his car back on the track, he finished 37^th, losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick.

“We don’t ever give up and that’s the thing,” Edwards said. “I told my guys to keep their heads up. We’ll take this bad day and keep our pride.”

“We knew coming here we could come out losing a bunch of points and we lost about as many as we could, but that’s OK,” Edwards continued. “We’re still right there. Hopefully we’ll be leading it after next week.”

Not Surprising: There was another Cinderella glass slipper waiting and not surprisingly this one was polished with redemption for one driver who was definitely due one at Daytona.

David Ragan, who had come so close to winning the Daytona 500 but was penalized for changing lanes in the waning laps, was pushed to his first ever Cup victory by teammate Matt Kenseth.

This was Ragan’s first victory in 163 Cup races but his fifth top-10 finish in 2011. The driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush Fenway Racing scored his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Daytona.

“It was a tough one in February and coming back here we knew that we’d have a shot to win,” Ragan said. “When we qualified, that’s probably the first time I really felt like we’ve got a car that’s fast enough that we can win this thing, so we made a pact with our teammate Matt Kenseth that we were gonna work together through thick or thin.”

“I just tried to not make any mistakes, tried to put ourselves in good position and we wound up obviously being in the lead on the last restart and that was the winning moment for us,” Ragan said. “I’m happy about the win.”

Surprising: While this year has been one of change on pit road, particularly for the over the wall gang with the new fueling system and the elimination of the catch can man, there was another surprising change on pit road during this race. The gas can man became the grease man as well.

From rags covered in lard to cans of Pam, greasing the bumpers became a part of the pit crew dance. And another pit road command from atop the boxes became “Right side tires and grease the bumpers.”

Not Surprising: With the new style of tandem racing, it was not surprising to see a race record high of 57 lead changes. There was also a track record broken for 25 different leaders, with the previous record being 22 set in this year’s Daytona 500.

It was also not surprising that after all of the racing, the finale came down to the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.

Clint Bowyer, who had been at the front of the pack in his No. 33 Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet, ended up finishing 36^th, thanks to that final green, white, checker attempt.

“We got some damage in the beginning of the race and laid back in the field with our RCR teammate Jeff Burton until about 30 to go,” Bowyer said. “That last caution came out at the wrong time as we were making a run at the leaders.”

“Nothing we could have done there at the end,” Bowyer concluded. “That’s just restrictor plate racing for you I guess.”

Surprising: The surprising tandem dubbed ‘Harvard’, comprised of Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet, and Paul Menard, behind the wheel of the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, finished strong.

In fact, Harvick’s finish was strong enough to catapult him over Edwards to lead the point standings by five.

“We had a plan to stick with the No. 27 (Menard) all night and I think we ran every lap with him,” Harvick said. “The first green-white-checkered, we had a great run and the timing was perfect.”

“The second one, we just didn’t have quite the timing and got a couple of guys underneath us and then we just got a little bit too far behind,” Harvick continued. “But still, everything worked pretty good.”

Not Surprising: In contrast to the relief of the ‘Harvard’ tandem, it was not surprising to see equal if not more amounts of frustration boil over for many of the traditionally good plate race drivers who did not have the finish they, or their fans, envisioned.

In addition to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 20^th in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salute, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also struggled late in the race, finishing 19^th in his camouflaged No. 88 National Guard Heritage/Amp Energy Chevrolet.

“Oh man, I don’t know,” Junior said after the race. “I’m really ticked off. Damnit. I was just trying to get to the finish line.”

“What kind of move can you make in racing like this?” Junior continued. “There ain’t no move you can make.”

“You just hold it on the mat and try not to wreck into each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You see how good we are at that.”

Surprising: In addition to his appearance in the movie ‘Cars 2’, it was a bit surprising to see Jeff Gordon, this week piloting the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, starring as the race’s Lucky Dog. Gordon used his veteran skills for an incredible save after a wild spin on lap 157 to finish sixth.

“Somebody got in the back of the No. 4 (Kasey Kahne) and pushed him up into me and I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “Then the car came around and luckily I straightened it out somehow and came back and fixed it.”

“Miraculously there on those last two restarts we avoided more wrecks,” Gordon continued. “It was awesome and how we finished sixth is unbelievable.”

Not Surprising: One other driver benefitted greatly from the Lucky Dog phenomenon. AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Air Force Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports, got the distinction after the first green, white, checkered attempt and went on to power his way to a top-10 finish.

“I felt kind of bad because Marcos (Ambrose) and I were racing for the lucky dog, but I was happy the yellow came out twice so we both got our laps back,” Allmendinger said. “After that, it was just trying to miss the wreck.”

“We didn’t quite miss it but I stayed wide open and kind of bulled my way through there and finished 10^th.”

July 3, 2011
Kevin Harvick Incorporated Goes All-In For Nationwide Series Race at Daytona

With the idea of the two-car dance coming into play at the restrictor plate track, it’s no surprise that some teams are putting their forces together to make sure that they’ve got it set up.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]One of those teams is Kevin Harvick Incorporated as they’ll be entering four cars instead of their typical three for a restrictor plate.

Driving the No. 2 Chevrolet will be Elliott Sadler, who has driven the car all year long.

“At Daytona, it’s either feast of famine for me,” Sadler said. “We had a really fast car there in February, but got caught up in a wreck early and finished 38th. Of course, my team owner Kevin Harvick will be in another OneMain Financial car, so I’m sure that we will find each other and help each other throughout the whole race. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to help OneMain Financial to celebrate their brand launch this weekend, and I hope that we can bring home a victory for everyone! Daytona is a special place to a lot of people because it is the France family’s birthplace and where the roots of NASCAR started. I always look forward to going down there on the Fourth of July weekend. It’s a special race that kind of marks the middle of the season. When you leave Daytona, you have a feeling of how the rest of the season will go. It’s going to be a great race.”

The Emporia, Virgina native has had the least success of the group at Daytona as he has competed in the Nationwide Series there four times with a best finish of 15th in 1997. Though he’s not inexperienced by any means following 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Daytona with four top-fives and nine top-10s.

Sadler is hoping to dance with his experienced teammates to jump from second to first in points as he sits second, five points behind Reed Sorenson.

Driving the No. 4 will be team owner Kevin Harvick, who is looking for more success in his own equipment. Harvick has captured two poles, one victory, 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his previous 17 starts at the 2.5-mile oval.

“It’s is going to be interesting heading into the race at Daytona because there are so many factors that play into your success at this track,” he said. “Racing Daytona in July is a lot different than racing there in February. The track gets hot and slick and the handling characteristics become exaggerated. With the new racing surface you also need a good drafting partner. KHI is fielding four cars for this race, so finding a partner shouldn’t be too difficult. I’m excited about our chances of success at this race, not only as a driver but as a team owner.”

Driving the No. 9 will be Tony Stewart, who returns back to the seat of a Kevin Harvick Incorporated car after his win back in February at Daytona.

“It’s a small team size-wise,” Stewart said. “But as far as equipment and everything, Kevin and DeLana [Harvick] prepare cars that are some of the best cars in the Nationwide Series.”

Stewart is the secret to KHI’s Daytona success it may seem as he has scored them all four of their wins.

“I think it’s because of the attention to detail that Kevin and DeLana put into their racecars. You see it in their Truck Series program,” he added. “You see it in their Nationwide Series program. They just do everything first class. I always have the confidence when I get in one of their cars that I’m in just as competitive a car as I could be with any other organization out there. They’re first class, and that’s the kind of group that you want to be with when you do a one-off race like this. You have that confidence. You don’t worry about anything. You know that they’re giving you the best equipment that you can get in that series. It’s always fun. It’s fun to drive for one of your good friends like Kevin and DeLana, but at the same time knowing that they’ve got really good racecars just tops it all off.”

Lastly, driving the No. 33 will be Clint Bowyer, who has also ran some races in the past with KHI. Back in February, it was Bowyer who finished second to Stewart’s win, only by the third closest margin in the series at 0.007 seconds.

“Daytona is what NASCAR is all about,” he said. “It started there, and it means so much to be able to go and compete and it’s just such an awesome race track. We were so close to winning in February with this No. 33 KHI team. We had some tough breaks and got involved in accidents while running up front at Talladega [Superspeedway] in April, and then at Dover [International Speedway] in May. I’m looking forward to being back with the KHI guys, and I really want to get this Menards Chevy in victory lane and get another win at Daytona.”

Bowyer is not a driver to underestimate as he has eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes and won the race in 2009 after leading 48 laps for Richard Childress Racing.

Kevin Harvick Incorporated’s success at Daytona International Speedway is impressive as since 2005, KHI has four wins, two poles, eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. So as the race nears conclusion, don’t be surprised if one of the two KHI pairs are fighting their way for the lead.

June 28, 2011
Matty’s Picks – Vol. 7 – Infineon – June 26, 2011

Matty’s Picks
Vol. 7 – Infineon – June 26, 2011

Its time to go road racing for the first time in the 2011. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its next stop in Sonoma, California on Sunday for the first of two road courses on the 2011 Cup schedule.

[media-credit name=”InfineonRaceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]California is home to the highest and lowest points in elevation in the Continental United States, and surprisingly both points are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney in the Eastern Sierras measures 14,495 feet while Bad Water located in the hottest and driest place in the US, Death Valley, is 282 feet below sea level.

Now, the debate still rambles on what is missing from The Chase. I am an extreme advocate for a road-course race to be ran during the last ten races of the season. Road-courses show a driver’s true talent with the constant shifting, breaking, right and left corners, and the overall toughness of a driver behind the wheel.

Infineon makes the most sense for a race in The Chase just because of the weather there during Chase season. The other road course on the schedule, Watkins Glen International, happens to be my home track, and has been known to see snowfall during the last ten weeks of the NASCAR season. The only other option would be to add another road course like Barber Motorsports Park, Road Atlanta, or a true test the brand new Circuit of the Americas being built for next year’s US Grand Prix just outside of Austin. Nonetheless, to really make The Chase complete, a road-course must be added if for nothing else, another wild card race.

Michigan Recap

I won’t spend too much time on my recap of last week in this week’s picks because my picks last week were less than impressive. I scored no imaginary points last week for myself and my top finisher was shown 14th when the checkered flag flew Sunday afternoon. Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne both had a decent runs going very early, but fell out of the Top 10 in the running order by lap 50. The action picked back up by the mid-way point in the race, Harvick and Kahne battled each other for a Top 5 spot around lap 100. Kahne would eventually make it to fifth before his pitfall of the race came on lap 155 when he ran his car out of fuel. He would make it to pit road, but struggled getting his car fired and sat in his pit box for over a minute before his car finally started once again. Kahne would go on to finish one lap down in 28th, netting me zero points. Harvick lasted a bit longer towards the front, but would eventually hit the wall around lap 182, and bring his Chevy home 14th, also netting me zero points.

Infineon Picks

I’m a bit torn this week on defining what a Dark Horse is on a road course. I would like to say that it’s a guy that nobody sees coming, sort of like pole-sitter Joey Logano. I sure didn’t see him starting up front tomorrow when I started this column on Thursday Afternoon. Kudos to him for surprising everyone with the pole.

For my Dark Horse pick this week I have to play a little track-position game and go with a guy that has not won on a road course. Clint Boyer does have two Top 5’s at Sonoma and also boasts an average finish of 12.6. Bowyer starts ninth on Sunday and was 14th quickest in practice on Friday. Starting up front at a road course can set the pace for the entire race, and Bowyer has given himself a spot in the Top 10 for Sunday.

The Thunder from Down Under, Marcos Ambrose is my pick to win this Sunday at Infineon. He starts one position in front of Bowyer in eighth and has an astounding record on road courses. Ambrose has an average finish of 9.8 in all his starts on road courses, with four Top 5’s in just six starts. Ambrose was born to drive on road courses and is utterly familiar with left and right turns from his days of Supercar Racing in Australia. He’s got a great car and a great starting spot on Sunday, so watch for him to finish towards the front.

Stay tuned for next week’s preview as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back to Florida to go night racing once again at Daytona. Until next time…..you stay classy ROAD COURSE NATION.

June 25, 2011