Tag: Coca-Cola 600

Kurt Busch Fastest in First Practice at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch topped the chart in the first Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.002 and a speed of 192.843 mph followed by Jimmie Johnson who was second in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 28.235 and a speed of 191.252 mph. Carl Edwards was third fastest in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.266 and a speed of 191.042 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet with a time of 28.306 and a speed of 190.772 mph while Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 28.310 and a speed of 190.745 mph.

Joey Logano was sixth quickest in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Martin Truex Jr. was seventh in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was eighth in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Jamie McMurray was ninth in his No. 1 CGR Chevrolet and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10 in his No. 18 JGR Toyota.

Kyle Busch also posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 185.465 mph.

The next time the Sprint Cup cars are on track will be tonight at 7:15 p.m. ET for three rounds of qualifying.

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May 26, 2016

NASCAR Racing Schedule for Charlotte

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series will compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. The Camping World Truck Series is off. Please check below for the complete schedule of events and the Driver Pairings for the 2016 Coca-Cola 600 Miles of Remembrance.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, May 26:

On Track:
2-3:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Practice – FS1
3:30-4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series First Practice – FS1
5:30-6:50 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
7:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

Garage Cam: (Watch live)
1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series
3 p.m.: XFINITY Series

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
1:15 p.m.: Kyle Larson
1:30 p.m.: Ty Dillon
3:30 p.m.: Carl Edwards
3:45 p.m.: NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew National Combine
4:45 p.m.: Joey Logano
8:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series Qualifying (time approx.)

Saturday, May 28:

On Track:
10-10:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Second Practice – FS1
11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
1-1:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Final Practice – FS1
2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Hisense 4K TV 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – FS1

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
12:15 p.m.: 600 Miles of Remembrance with Mark Singleton – tire changer and Graham Molatch – jackman
4:45 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race (time approx.)

Sunday, May 29:

On Track:
6 p.m.: Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 (400 laps, 600 miles) – FOX

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
10:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series Race (time approx.)

Additional Info:

Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

Special NASCAR Programming:

Daniel Suárez, David Ragan and Matt DiBenedetto on “Fluffy Breaks Even” – Thursday, May 26 at 10 p.m. ET on Fuse
Chase Elliott on “Ridiculousness” – Thursday, June 2 at 10 p.m. ET on MTV

Driver Pairings for the 2016 Coca-Cola 600 Miles of Remembrance:

2016 600 Miles of Remembrance
Car No.	Driver	Soldier	Branch	Soldier Hometown

1	Jamie McMurray	LCPL Scott Albert Lynch	Marines	Greenwood Lake, NY
2	Brad Keselowski	SPC Joseph T. Prentler	Army	Fenwick, MI
3	Austin Dillon	SOC Mark T. Carter	Navy	Fallbrook, CA
4	Kevin Harvick	LCPL Nathan Ross Elrod	Marines	Rockwell, NC
5	Kasey Kahne	LCPL Eric Levi Ward	Marines	Redmond, WA
6	Trevor Bayne	CW4 Jason William McCormack	Army	Enterprise, AL
7	Regan Smith	LCPL Cody Steven Childers	Marines	Chesapeake, VA
10	Danica Patrick	LCPL Benito “cheeks” Ramirez	Marines	Edinburg, TX
11	Denny Hamlin	SGT John Davis Harvey	Marines	Roanoke, VA
13	Casey Mears	SPC Christopher Shane Wright	Army	Tollesboro, KY
14	Tony Stewart	MSG Paul D. Karpowich	Army	Freeland, PA
15	Clint Bowyer	MSGT Tara Brown	Air Force	Long Island, NJ
16	Greg Biffle	SPC Joel A. Taylor	Army	Pinetown, NC
17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	SP4 James (Jim) H. Woolard	Army	Manchester, OH
18	Kyle Busch	PFC Robert Stephan Underwood	Army	O’ Fallon, MO
19	Carl Edwards	CPT Edmond Jablonsky Jr.	Army	Pasadena, TX
20	Matt Kenseth	PFC Christopher Neal White	Marines	Elizabethtown, KY
21	Ryan Blaney	SMSN Cherone L. Gunn	Navy	Virginia Beach, VA
22	Joey Logano	SPC Cindy Beaudoin	Army	Plainfield, CT
23	David Ragan	LT COL Paul Keith Mikeal	Air Force	Mooresville, NC
24	Chase Elliott	GYSGT Justin Martone	Marines	Bedford, VA
27	Paul Menard	SPC Zachary Lee Shannon	Army	Dunedin, FL
30	Josh Wise	SSG Robert A. Massarelli	Army	Hamilton, OH
31	Ryan Newman	SSGT Jason C Ramseyer	Marines	West Palm Beach, FL
32	Jeffrey Earnhardt	CPT Christopher Cash	Army	Old Orchard Beach, ME
34	Chris Buescher	SSGT Eric A. McIntosh	Marines	Indianapolis, IN
38	Landon Cassill	PVT Earl Platt	Army	Vestaburg, MI
41	Kurt Busch	SGT Nicholas Ray Gibbs	Army	Stokesdale, NC
42	Kyle Larson	SO3 Denis Christian Miranda	Navy	Toms River, NJ
43	Aric Almirola	SSGT Forrest B. Sibley	Air Force	Pensacola, FL
44	Brian Scott	PFC John G. Borbonus	US Army	Boise, ID
46	Michael Annett	PFC Jacob Henry Wykstra	Army	Thornton, CO
47	AJ Allmendinger	YN3 Wendell Williams	Navy	Cincinnati, OH
48	Jimmie Johnson	SFC Kyle B. Wehrly	Army	Galesburg, IL
55	Reed Sorenson	PFC Jason Hill Estopinal	Marines	Dallas, GA
78	Martin Truex Jr.	GYSGT Jeffery E. Bohr, Jr.	Marines	Ossian, IA
83	Matt Dibenedetto	CPL Jared C. Verbeek	Marines	Visalia, CA
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	LCPL Aaron Howard Reed	Marines	Chillicothe, OH
95	Michael McDowell	PFC Andrew Mark Krippner	Army	Garland, TX
98	Cole Whitt	CPL Michael D. Anderson Jr.	Marines	Modesto, CA
	Pace Car	CAPT Matthew Rolland	Air Force	Lexington, KY
	Split Pace Car	1SG Kevin A. Dupont	Marines	Chicopee, MA
	Grand Marshal Car 1	SGT Bryan Paul Abercrombie	Army	Clinton, UT
	Grand Marshal Car 2	SPC Tony J. Gonzales	Army	Newman, CA

May 25, 2016

Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke 600

With every driver well-versed on the name of the soldier memorialized on each car, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Surprising: While there was a plethora of doubling down at the Coke 600, most of the results were not so positive. Jeff Gordon, for one, did his own version of the double, piloting the pace car for the Indy 500 before the NASCAR race.

“To come down that front straightaway the first time and hear that crowd cheering for the cars, the drivers, and this amazing event …to be able to hear that from inside the pace car with the windows down is just amazing,” Gordon said. “Not to mention that the pace car has to get after it pretty good out here because that last lap is 100 mph and through the corners, maintaining that is something.

“So that was definitely cool. A huge thrill and a huge honor.”

Unfortunately, Gordon did not have a positive result after his double down as he finished a disappointing 15th place in NASCAR’s longest race of the season with an ill-handling race car.

Gordon’s teammate Jimmie Johnson also did his own version of the double, which was not positive twice over. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet spun twice to finish 40th at a track where he has traditionally performed so well.

“We just had a really loose racecar,” Johnson said. “We came in with an aggressive mindset to bring an aggressive set-up in the car, drive aggressively and take chances. We said we were going to come in and swing for the fences. We did and I hit the fence.”

The only successful double down was achieved by none other than Landon Cassill, who finished the Coke 600 in the 39th spot but then ran from Charlotte Motor Speedway to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Here is what Cassill tweeted in the wee hours of the morning after finishing his 14 mile run. “Made it! What a long day. 13.92mi 1:41:49 7:19/mi

“Made it! What a long day. 13.92mi 1:41:49 7:19/mi avg bpm 155. Thanks @snapfitness and @NASCARHall for tagging along!”

Not Surprising: The best quote of the long race day into night was, “Is the race over yet?” It was no wonder that Carl Edwards asked that question of his team in what seemed to be a never-ending fuel mileage race to the checkered flag.

“This one feels different,” Edwards said after getting confirmation that the race was indeed over and he had won. “I don’t know how to explain it other than to just say that it’s a big relief, and more than that, it’s just a big opportunity.

“Now we can go and just become better, and that’s what we need.”

Surprising: While Kyle Busch returned to the track for the first points paying race after his injuries from a Daytona crash, teammate Denny Hamlin suffered his own medical issues in the car. Hamlin, who had played 36 holes of golf and a game of tennis prior to the race, suffered a bad headache and dehydration after the race.

“Probably overdid it a little bit this weekend,” Hamlin said. “I think the dehydration led to a migraine and just felt nauseous the last 100 laps or so.”

“I feel pretty good. All in all, I felt like that was a great race for us,” Busch said. “I admit I’ve probably got a little left foot soreness, but other than that, everything is pretty hunky‑dory.”

Hamlin finished eighth while Busch finished 11th.

Not Surprising: Given that it was the longest race of the season, it was no wonder that at least two engines expired, one of young Ryan Blaney in the Wood Brothers No. 21 and the other of David Ragan with Michael Waltrip Racing.

“We were fighting hard to get back on the lead lap and looks like something happened engine related – we got really, really hot and something happened internally,” Ragan said. “Disappointed that we had a lot better race car, but saw some encouraging signs that we had some speed in qualifying and the race as well, but we just need to put a race all together.”

“We, unfortunately, had an engine problem,” Blaney said. ”It was really unfortunate. It sputtered and started to go maybe half a lap before and then it really went up. I didn’t expect it to really explode like that.”

Surprising: Greg Biffle celebrated his 450th start with a stellar finish, taking his No. 16 Ortho Ford to the finish line in the runner-up position.

“I’m really excited for the team and the organization,” Biffle said. “We’ve been working really, really hard on our cars. It’s been well documented how bad we’ve been running, so it feels good.”

Not Surprising: While Martin Truex Jr. has been knocking on the door of his first win of the season, having the fastest car in the last two races, fuel mileage bit him yet again, resulting in a fifth place finish.

“We had a very fast car all night,” Truex said. “It really hurts knowing that you had the fastest car and didn’t win. I don’t know what to do about fuel mileage races. I’ve never ever in my entire career come out on the right end of them.”

Surprising: Even with a third place finish, NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was disappointed by not winning a race near and dear to his heart.

“We’ve got a win so it doesn’t really matter,” the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet said. “We would like to win more races. I want to win this one. I don’t know how many more chances I will get at it.”

Not Surprising: The fragmentation of the Stewart-Haas Race team continued, with Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch finishing ninth and 10th, while teammates Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick finished 21st and 22nd respectively.

“It was a really frustrating night,” Patrick said. “The car just felt like it was dragging down the straightaways. It’s the most frustrating thing in the world when you see everyone drive past you, but we dug deep and did our best to get everything we could out of the car.”

Surprising: Team Penske did not quite have the race that they wanted, with Brad Keselowski finishing seventh and Joey Logano finishing 13th. Both not only struggled with their cars, but Keselowski even struggled with the heat.

“It was a long race. I hate to see it come down to fuel mileage, but that’s part of the game too,” Keselowski said. “It was hot. I burned my foot and didn’t feel good, but it’s a tough race. I gave it all I had and felt good about the effort we gave.”

“The sun started going down and our car was not good. Nothing got better,” Logano said. “We went one way with something and went back the other way and nothing.

“There was never one good thing about the car. Usually you at least get a good exit or a good center and I was just fighting way too much stuff.”

Not Surprising: Brett Moffitt in his No. 34 CSX “Play It Safe” Ford was the highest finishing rookie, taking the final lap in the 31st spot.

“It was a long race, that’s for sure,” Moffitt said. “In the middle of the race, we got the CSX Ford running pretty good. We just got stuck a couple laps down and could never get them back. Cautions weren’t falling in our favor, so we didn’t get any extra help there. But we learned a lot and we’re thankful to CSX for the support.”

The Cup Series moves up the east coast to the Monster Mile for the next race, the 46th Annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

May 27, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Charlotte Motor Speedway May 21 – May 24

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Memorial Day weekend. Please check below for the weekend schedule of events.

All times Eastern.

Thursday, May 21:

On Track:

2:30-3:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
4-4:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice – FOX Sports 1
5:30-6:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
7:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1

TV Schedule:

5 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub – FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m.: One Hot Night: The 1992 NASCAR All-Star Race – FOX Sports 1

11 p.m.: FOX Sports Live – FOX Sports 1

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

1:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
1:45 p.m.: Kevin Harvick
2:15 p.m.: Chris Buescher and Elliott Sadler
4:55 p.m.: Goodyear Gives Back announcement with Martin Truex Jr.; Mike Helton, Vice Chairman, NASCAR; Stu Grant, GM of Global Race Tires, Goodyear; Kris Kienzl, Marketing Manager, Goodyear; Martin C. Boire, Executive Director, Support Our Troops
5:15 p.m.: Kyle Busch
8:15 p.m. (approx): NSCS post-qualifying

Friday, May 22:

On Track:

No on-track activities

TV Schedule:

6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub – FOX Sports 1

Saturday, May 23:

On Track:

10-10:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
1-1:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Hisense 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – FOX (Green Flag 2:46 p.m. approx)

TV Schedule:

12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition – FOX Sports 1
2:00 p.m.: XFINITY Pre-race – FOX
10 p.m.: FOX Sports Live – FOX Sports 1

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

9:15 a.m.: Hisense with Denny Hamlin
4:45 p.m. (approx.): XFINITY post-race

Sunday, May 24:

On Track:

6 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (400 laps, 600 miles) – FOX

(Green Flag 6:16 p.m. approx)

TV Schedule:

4 p.m.: – NASCAR RaceDay – FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m.: NSCS Pre-race – FOX
11 p.m.: FOX Sports Live – FOX Sports 1
12 a.m.: NASCAR Victory Lane – FOX Sports 1

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

10:30 p.m. (approx): NSCS post-race news conference

May 21, 2015
NASCAR Drivers Honor Fallen Soldiers on Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte – Bowyer, Ragan Share Personal Connections

Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser share personal connections to the heroes they will honor this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of NASCAR’s most widely anticipated races. It has the distinction of being the longest race on the Sprint Cup schedule and is considered the home track for many of the NASCAR teams who are based in the area. But what makes it truly unique is its date on Memorial Day weekend.

This year NASCAR is honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, dubbing the race as the “600 Miles of Remembrance.” As part of that effort, all 43 Sprint Cup drivers will participate in “NASCAR: An American Salute. ™

The driver’s names that normally appear on their windshields will be replaced by the name of a fallen United States Armed Forces member. Many of the families of those featured soldiers will attend the race and Charlotte Motor Speedway will also host more than 6,000 active military members. In addition, Charlotte Motor Speedway will continue its tradition of honoring these military heroes in their pre-race show.

Many of the names displayed were chosen by NASCAR but for some drivers, like Clint Bowyer, the name on his windshield has a more personal significance.

1st Lt. Dale E. Bowyer

Dale E. Bowyer is Clint Bowyer’s paternal grandfather. He was a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army and won the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army.

While leading his platoon under heavy fire in an attack near Sinz, Germany, on Jan. 25, 1945, Lt. Bowyer was severely wounded by an enemy mine. He refused evacuation even though both feet were shattered. His men, inspired by his bravery, continued their advance after moving past the minefield. Only then did Lt. Bowyer allow himself to be evacuated. He eventually lost his leg due to the injuries he sustained. Lt. Bowyer worked in the dairy business after his stint in the Army and passed away in June 1974.

Sgt. Bryan Brewster

David Ragan’s No. 55 Toyota will carry a name with close ties to the NASCAR community. Sgt. Bryan Brewster was only 24-years-old when he and nine other soldiers died on May 5, 2006 when their CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter crashed along the Pakistan border. Five children lost their fathers on that fateful day.

Bryan’s father Louis Brewster is a longtime motorsports reporter and sports columnist for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group and a familiar face in the NASCAR garage. Louis Brewster and his wife Linda created the Bryan Brewster Foundation with the motto “Excellence through Leadership.”

The foundation has delivered 3,000 books to families of military personnel so that soldiers can read to their children while deployed and has offered assistance for veterans at Chaffey College in California through a scholarship fund.

“There’s nothing in the world that makes me more proud than to do something for the men and women of our military, especially those who have given their lives,” said driver David Ragan.

“This weekend is the greatest weekend of the year for racing, but I hope by putting Bryan’s name on our car everyone will remember that a lot of people sacrificed their lives for our freedom,” Ragan continued. “On behalf of myself, MWR, Aaron’s, Toyota, NASCAR and all Americans I want to thank Bryan Brewster and his family along with all the other soldiers and their families.”

Sgt. Edwin A. Penn

Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser has chosen to honor a brother in arms, Sgt. Edwin Penn. His name will be displayed on the windshield of Martin Truex Jr.’s Chevrolet. Penn was only 20 years-old when he was killed in action on Sept. 6, 1968 in South Vietnam.

Visser, who also served in Vietnam, met Penn at their induction ceremony and completed basic training with Penn at Fort Bliss.

“You could tell right away that Ed was a natural leader,” said Visser. “He was strong, fair and had a big heart in his role as our squad leader. He is a true hero and it will be an honor to have Ed’s name on our race car at the Memorial Day weekend race in Charlotte. The last time I saw him was at our basic training graduation. We went on to serve in different units in Vietnam.”

Penn served in the 101^st Airborne Division and started his tour of duty on Aug. 7, 1968. He was killed only 29 days later.

“Ed was the consummate brother,” said Randy Penn. “He was my teacher, my protector, and my sparring partner at home. He had a quiet tone, strong will and led by example for all who surrounded him. It has been 47 years since his passing, he is still in my mind and heart, he will forever be missed, and has been an important part of my life in all that I have done.”

These are only a few stories of the brave souls who served our country with honor. Please take a moment to remember all of these fallen heroes by visiting nascar.com for profiles on all 43 honorees.

May 20, 2015
For Jeff Gordon, His Back Is Unfortunately Back

He may be leading the point standings, running consistently, and already have a win in his pocket, but for Jeff Gordon, all the talk at Dover International Speedway was about his back issues being back.

Last weekend, Gordon had to step out of the car for one practice prior to the Coca Cola 600 and actually had Regan Smith, the Nationwide Series point’s leader, on standby for the race in the event he needed to get out of the car.

“I wouldn’t say I’m 100% but I’m closer to normal,” Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said in the media center. “I still feel some of the effects from last week but I didn’t have any sharp pains. I just had a week of rest and normal activities and lots of ice this week. I was pretty sore on Monday and Tuesday after the long 600. That’s not totally unusual but a little more than normal.”

Gordon acknowledged that his back problems over the Coke 600 weekend were none like he had experienced in the past.

“The issues that I’ve had in the past never were like I dealt with last weekend,” Gordon said. “That was the first time that something like that happened in the car, on qualifying day into a race weekend.”

“I’ve rolled out of bed and had things like that happen,” Gordon continued. “That’s just being tight and not having the muscles loose. That’s part of just getting older.”

“So, it was a little bit foreign to me to have that where I had to get out of the car.”

Gordon actually had to be treated with an injection in order to be able to compete during the race weekend. And thankfully he did get relief, a result that he had not experienced before with the same treatment.

“The treatment I had was an epidural, a type of injection, some type of cortisone that is fairly typical and common,” Gordon said. “I don’t know all the stuff that was in there but it made the pain go away. So, that’s the first time I’ve had to do that on race weekend. I’ve done that in a different part of my back and it didn’t really do much for me. This time it did.”

Gordon seemed a bit frustrated with the back pain in that he has been training regularly in an attempt to keep his back as loose as possible.

“I’ve been working a lot harder on my training, riding a bike and exercising,” Gordon said. “The problem with that is that it tightens everything up even more so than normal. And so if I don’t stay loose and ice it and do the things to keep me loose on race weekend, what happened could possibly occur again.”

It was also evident in Gordon’s remarks that he was indeed taking the back issue seriously, in fact, enough so to potentially put him out of the car permanently.

“If that happens many more times, I won’t have a choice,” Gordon said about the back pain and the dreaded ‘retirement’ word.

Gordon primarily credited his down time and the lack of activity during that time as the major contributing factor to his back pain. That, of course, along with his age and the length of time he has been racing have had impact as well.

“It’s just not sitting,” Gordon said. “The biggest contributor was the fact that we had about a three hour delay from practicing to qualifying and I sat in the truck for too long in one place. I really think that caused the issue that I had and inflamed and irritated it. Once that happened, there was nothing that was going to fix it until I had the injections.”

“Doing this for thirty or forty years, that has contributed to it,” Gordon said. “It’s not different than a golfer or a tennis player with that continuous motion and pushing those muscles and parts of the body. I do have some degenerative disk issues, which is again very common for a lot of people, but when you put that into racing, it is a little bit tougher. It’s just something that I have to deal with.”

Gordon was visibly strained when he talked about making the difficult decision to get out of his race car, even for the one practice session. But once Sunday came and it was time to race, Gordon felt that his sticking in the car in spite of his back pain proved just how strong he is, to himself and to his team.

“I got out of the car on Saturday and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life to make that decision,” Gordon said. “It was not an easy one and I was doubting myself but my body was telling me it was the right thing to do.”

“But Sunday went well and we got through it,” Gordon continued. “We actually had a good car up until that last caution came. I think that if anything that only built momentum for our race team to go through what we went through and to go have that kind of a race to show the team what kind of determination I have as well as kind of show our competitors that it’s going to take a lot to get us down.”

“I think that did more good for us for this season and our chances for a championship than anything else.”

So, how hard will Dover be on Gordon’s sensitive back and how will he know if he is set to race the Monster?

“Yeah, there were loads and there were muscles in my back that were being used a lot because it’s a high-banked very fast race track with big sweeping corners, Gordon said. “But there was no shooting pain.”

What will heal the four-time champ’s back the most, however, is very simple, at least from Gordon’s perspective.

“If I win this race on Sunday, I will feel better,” Gordon said. “It’s amazing how a win takes away all your pain.”

May 31, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

With military tributes abounding and NASCAR patriotism at its best, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 55^th annual running of the sport’s longest race, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Surprising: In a sport where man so often is at the mercy of machine, the competitive spirit of the drivers surprisingly triumphed over whatever difficulties they were facing in their race cars.

One such example of perseverance was Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, who triumphed over back spasms that were so severe that he missed final practice to finish the longest race of the season in the seventh spot.

“It was tough,” Gordon said after the race. “I was aching in there. There was one time when I got on the brakes into (Turn) 1 and it triggered something. I didn’t know what was going to happen after that, but it settled down.”

“I’m happy that I got through it. It tells me a lot about what kind of threshold I have and I just want to show this team the kind of commitment I have to them because of what they have shown me this year.”

The driver who triumphed most mightily over his race machines, however, was Kurt Busch, who raced his heart out in the Indianapolis 500, finishing sixth in his rookie effort, and then went on to race in the Coke 600, only to have his engine give up the ghost on Lap 271.

“To feel the stock car right after driving the Indy car was a day I’ll never forget,” the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Made in America Chevrolet, said. “I can’t let the mood here with the car dampen what happened up at Indy today. That was very special.”

“Andretti Autosport gave me a top-five car to try and win the 500 with, and these Stewart-Haas guys gave me a good car too,” Busch continued. “The motor just went, sometimes that happens. All in all I gave it my all.”

Not Surprising: For Hendrick Motorsports, with their headquarters just up the road from the speedway, there truly is no place like home. And for race winner, Jimmie Johnson, and his team owner Rick Hendrick, Charlotte Motor Speedway is like coming home.

“I think, number one, Charlotte is kind of home,” Mr. H said after the race. “Won my first NASCAR race here with Sr. in ’83 in the Nationwide or Busch Series. It’s a special place, all the families here.”

“Winning a race, Jimmie and Chad have been so close this year, and several situations got away,” Mr. Hendrick continued. “To get this one behind us is great.”

This home track win was Johnson’s first of the season, his 67^th victory in 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his seventh win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet also broke the tie with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip as the all-time series points wins leader at Charlotte.

Surprising: Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had surprisingly much in common in the Coke 600, starting out strong and then both going down for the count with engine issues. Junior finished 19^th and Patrick finished an even more disappointing 39^th.

“We had a little bit of an engine issue or something cropping up,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Superman Chevrolet said. “But it was very fast. I was very happy with the speed.”

“We were able to at least finish 19th,” Junior continued. “We could have blowed up and finished in the back. You’re going to have some bad weeks and you’ve got to be able to roll with them. This was one of them and we just have to look at the positives and try not to dwell too much on what happened.”

“Yeah, it’s really unfortunate,” Patrick said, echoing the words of Dale Earnhardt Jr. “We started off great and started to get tighter and tighter. We couldn’t really figure out how to fix it.”

“We had a good plan, then dropped a cylinder and lost power, then got rear-ended,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet continued. “That was our day. We’ll just remember the good stuff that happened here at Charlotte and at Kansas last race and build on that for Dover.”

Not Surprising: Kevin Harvick did not close and was not fast in the pits so therefore it was not surprising that he also was not happy after the race, even though he finished second.

“We shot ourselves in the foot again,” the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “We left two wheels loose and played catch up the rest of the night.”

“We’re just shooting ourselves in the foot on pit road,” Harvick continued. “We have to clean that up because we obviously can’t win races with the fastest car if we make mistakes continuously on pit road. It’s frustrating.”

Surprising: Jamie Mac is back, backing up his All Star race win with a top-five finish in his No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet.

“Our car was fast enough that even when we went to the back, we were able to recover and get back to the top-five, which was great,” McMurray said. “We’ve had such good cars all year long and have not been able to capitalize because of tire issues or just some bad luck.”

“So I’m excited we won last week. We ran really good again this week. Just an all-around good night.”

Not Surprising: Carl Edwards, one of Ford’s best pitch men, credited his manufacturer’s fuel mileage for getting him a fourth place finish and scoring top honors for Ford in the race.

“That’s Ford fuel mileage right here,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion said. “You talk about Fords getting great fuel mileage and they did today.”

“Our car finished fourth and that was probably as good as we deserved to finish,” Edwards continued. “We did have a good run.”

Surprising: This time, rookie Austin Dillon actually finished ahead of ROTY competitor Kyle Larson to tighten up that rookie recognition battle. Dillon scored the 16^th finishing spot while Larson finished two behind in 18^th.

“I’m proud of everyone’s effort on this No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet team this weekend,” Dillon said. “It was not a bad finish considering all of the challenges we battled during the race.”

Not Surprising: Pleased but not satisfied was the theme for the top-finishing Toyota drivers. Matt Kenseth finished third in his No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota and Brian Vickers had a great run, finishing sixth in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.

“I thought we had a top-five car — a lot of it was definitely an improvement,” Kenseth said. “Just needed a little more and couldn’t quite run with the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and a couple of them other cars. Overall, it was a good night for our Home Depot Husky Tools Camry — we just have to get just a little better.”

“Our Camry was good all night,” Vickers said. “We were really close to top-five and probably close to a win, we just needed a little more speed.”

“The guys did a great job and just really proud of them,” Vickers continued. “Pleased but not satisfied.”

Surprising: Paul Menard had a surprisingly good run in his No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevrolet at Charlotte, finishing in the eighth spot after starting 21^st.

“We had a great finish tonight in Charlotte considering where we started,” Menard said. “It was a hard fought race the for No. 27 Serta/Menards team, but with some strategy and adjustments we were able salvage what could have been a tough night.”

“This race in Charlotte is a tough one, but we finished strong.”

Not Surprising: Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, epitomized the spirit of the weekend as he never quit and never gave up in spite of cutting down a tire on Lap 293 and finishing 15^th in the Coca Cola 600.

“This Quicken Loans team persevered this weekend,” Newman declared. “We had quite a bit to overcome, but we never gave up.”

“We started from the back after an issue in qualifying and had a Chevrolet good enough to race all the way up to ninth position before we had a tire cut down on a restart,” Newman continued. “I have to hand it to this team; we never gave up through all the adversity.”

“I will never stop fighting and nor will my crew, we’ll be fine.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves on next weekend to pay a visit to Miles the Monster in the 45th Annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.

May 26, 2014
Johnson Reclaims Charlotte Glory with Superb Coca-Cola 600 Performance

From lap one to lap 400, Sunday Night at Charlotte belonged solely to Jimmie Johnson. Johnson and his No. 48 team dominated as they perfectly executed a game plan en route to their first victory of the year.

The victory was Johnson’s 67th career series win which places him eighth on the all-time wins list. It was his seventh points win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, breaking a tie with Bobby Allison for most wins at the track and his fourth Coca-Cola 600 victory. Only Darrell Waltrip has won more 600s, with a total of five wins.

Rarely does this team go too far into the season without scoring a victory. However, the team wasn’t fazed by the somewhat slow start. This was demonstrated in the race as Johnson once again proved why he’s a six-time champion.

After the race, Johnson was asked about the significance of the win.

“It means a lot,” he said. “Through the years a lot of references (have been made) to this race as one of our majors. I certainly agree with that. 600 miles around here is no easy task. To deal with all the things that are thrown at a race team through the evening with the track changing, the mechanical obstacles that you have to overcome, keeping an engine alive, tires alive, all of it; it’s a serious team effort to finish 600 miles. And then win here, especially as hard as we had to run throughout the night, the pace we had to keep up, certainly proud of that.”

Throughout the race, it was typically one of three drivers leading the field. Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth all had fast cars and found themselves leading for large portions of the event.

Harvick was first to take the top spot away from Johnson on lap 76. He maintained the lead until the ensuing restart after the second caution when Johnson soared back by.

Brad Keselowski was another driver who stuck his nose out front at different points in the race as he and Paul Wolfe worked out a different pit strategy. The strategy was successful in getting the No. 2 car out front; however it did not work out in their favor at the end as they placed tenth at the end of the night.

Unlike last year’s Coca-Cola 600, only one multi-car incident occurred throughout the race. On Lap 235, Marcos Ambrose spun off turn four. As drivers attempted to slow and avoid the accident, Josh Wise came in hot and hit the back of Landon Cassill which started a chain reaction. Brian Scott and Danica Patrick were also involved.

Kenseth made his way to the top spot on Lap 271. He was able to hold the position for a majority of the race’s second half.

Kurt Busch’s attempt at the Indianapolis-Charlotte double was going fine until Lap 273. Busch had placed sixth in the Indianapolis 500 earlier, but would finish 40th in Charlotte after blowing his engine 906 miles into his attempt at completing 1,100 throughout the day.

Despite the disappointing end, Busch was upbeat and satisfied about the day as a whole. “A day I’ll never forget,” was how Busch described his attempt at the double to FOX.

The eighth and final caution of the night came with 22 laps remaining. Jeff Gordon was the leader on the ensuing restart; however Kenseth would quickly regain the spot.

Johnson made the winning move with eight laps to go when he passed Kenseth. He then cruised to victory as he frequently did prior to the repave of the track in 2006.

Harvick came home second after being a threat early on and cited issues on pit road that thwarted their efforts.

“We had a fast car all night,” he said, “just kind of fumbled again on pit road, got behind, got a lap down. We needed a 700-mile race to get back to where we needed to be. All in all, they’re doing a great job of putting cars up on the track; we just have to clean up on pit road.”

Kenseth couldn’t get the job done and ended up third. He still has yet to score a victory in 2014. He was generally satisfied with the team’s efforts but said the car lacked the necessary speed.

“Overall for the weekend, I thought it was a step in the right direction,” he said. “I thought we were more competitive tonight. I didn’t think we were quick enough to win unless everything fell exactly our way. Even then I couldn’t quite hang on. Overall I thought it was a step in the right direction. I thought we had a top-five car all night. Great pit stops, great adjustments, just couldn’t hang on to it at the end.”

Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski complete the top 10.

Jeff Gordon, who finished seventh, retains the series points lead followed by Matt Kenseth who is 11 points behind in second place. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are tied at 24 points behind the leader for third and fourth in the standings and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fell one spot to fifth place.

NASCAR’s two home weeks concluded with the waving of the checkered flag. Now, all three series head to Delaware for a battle with the Monster Mile at Dover next weekend.

May 26, 2014
Matt Kenseth Just Shy of First Win of the Season

The 2013 season was arguably the best season of Matt Kenseth’s career. Seven wins, 12 top-fives and 20 top-10s, very impressive stats by anyone’s standards. He also came up just short of a championship, finishing second to six-time series champion, Jimmie Johnson. Victory lane eluded him again Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600, finishing third, behind Johnson, and Kevin Harvick.

Kenseth once again looked strong, leading 33 laps, many of those coming near the end of the race. He could not, however, hold off a hard charging, determined Jimmie Johnson. Harvick also made his way around the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the closing laps.

With such a fantastic season last year, Kenseth was expected to come out of the box in 2014 just as strong. So far, he hasn’t quite made it. At this point last season, Kenseth had already visited victory lane three times. This season he has nine top-10s, but no wins.

Given Kenseth’s strong performance last year, the media are constantly asking what the problem is this season. After the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, Kenseth again addressed those questions saying, “I feel like we’re gaining on it. I thought today all things being equal and nobody having trouble that we had at least a fifth-place car so we’re gaining on it. We’re not where we were last year yet, but I feel like certainly we’re gaining on it. Typically, this has been one of our best places and I was hoping we were going to be able to sneak up on a win there. We are just a little bit off and just need to get it a little better somehow.”

Even without a win, Kenseth is still a very impressive second place in the series points standings, so don’t count him out yet. Though the new points system awards winning instead of consistency, Kenseth’s consistency will eventually land him in victory lane. He will be in the Chase; he is running too strong to not be.

May 25, 2014
Kurt Busch Comes up Short on the Double

Kurt Busch attempted to complete “the double” this weekend – the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. That’s 1100 miles of racing in one day on two tracks that are 575 miles apart, not to mention the fact that it is also in two very different types of race cars. It’s a truly impressive feat for anyone that can complete it. Busch’s attempt, while impressive, came up just a bit short.

Busch started the day in Indianapolis, competing in the world’s most famous auto race – the Indy 500. Though Busch had no experience in open wheel cars, he turned quite a few heads in practice earlier in the week. His race day was actually pretty good as well.

Busch finished the day in sixth position, tying the best previous attempt by a driver attempting the double. Ironically, the person who set that record was Busch’s car owner, Tony Stewart.

Stewart started seventh at Indy in 2001, and finished sixth. On that day, Stewart also became the only driver to compete all 1100 miles in a double attempt. Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart finished a strong third place at Charlotte in the 600. That’s 1100 miles and two top-six finishes – not bad.

Busch, however, didn’t fare so well. After finishing sixth at Indy, Busch quickly made his way to Charlotte to start the 600. Due to missing the drivers meeting, Busch, per NASCAR rulebook, had to start at the rear of the field. Busch worked his way through the field, and appeared to be on his way to a respectable finish. His day came to an end, however, on lap 230. The engine blew on his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.

Engines for the Stewart-Haas team are supplied by Hendrick Racing Engines; several other Hendrick engines also had trouble during the 600. Busch’s teammate, Danica Patrick, also lost an engine as well as Dale Earnhardt Jr.

When it was all said and done, Busch did complete 906 laps of racing in his double attempt. It was a very impressive day regardless of the end result.

Busch was asked to describe his day after dropping out of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, Busch replied, “Today is a memory I’ll have forever. It was a challenge I put forth for myself. I enjoyed. I soaked it all in up North. I loved racing up in Indy in front of all the Indiana natives and the Hoosiers. They love their speedway up there. That speedway loves them. That’s what I really saw out of that track today. There was a grand stage to stand on represent NASCAR. We brought her home in sixth place. I didn’t think I had anything for those top five guys. They were racing hard. And those were the top five in that series. They’re strong. They’re tough.”

May 25, 2014