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Tag: Dale Earnhardt Jr

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta AdvoCare 500

    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 52nd 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 85th 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 13th 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 13th 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 36th 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 19th.

    This was Stewart’s 15th 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 18th or better, 19th or better and leads one lap, or 20th or better and leads the most laps.

    Earnhardt, Jr. will clinch is he finishes 20th or better, 21st or better and leads at least one lap, or 22nd 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 27th 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 10th 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 12th or 13th 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.”

  • The Key To Success

    The Key To Success

    There was rain. There were floods. There were even tornado’s in Atlanta. But for the second time in modern history, NASCAR ran on a Tuesday morning.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]The story that came out of the race was not the Chase points. It wasn’t those that clinched and those that lost all chance of making it. It was the story of persistence. It was the persistence of the fans that stayed and weathered the storm literally. It was the persistence of a 4-time champion who refused to quit. It was the persistence of a 2-time champion who was down and out who lady luck seemed to have forgotten. It was the story of a young man who has seen the bottom over four years and suddenly has found the spark. Persistence was the story of the day.

    The race weekend in Atlanta began on Friday. It was hot and humid to the point of being miserable and 87,000 people were there. On Saturday the weather was the same and the fans were still there. On Sunday the skies opened up and delivered a tropical torrential down power and the fans were there until NASCAR finally lost the track about 9 PM. Because of the weather warnings local authorities requested the race be rescheduled for Tuesday morning. Tuesday Morning 16,000 people were in the stands in the cold and damp and endured the on and off heavy mist. The cost of their perseverance was probably very high with 2 missed days of work or more for most. But their dedication to the sport and their favorite drivers was strong and their loyalty unwavering. Their persistence was rewarded with being witness to history being made.

    Through the delays there was a burning light. It was a light that had been burning since 1976 in Rio Linda California at a track called Cracker Jack Raceway. A fire that never dimmed and reach heights of greatness that the man it burned inside of only had dreamed of. The 4 time champion had struggled the last 2 years with a long winless streak broken in Texas last spring and punctuated by a crew chief change this winter. It was only two short years ago the media and the fans were talking about Jeff Gordon retiring but he didn’t. Instead he drove hard and on a rainy Tuesday in Atlanta Georgia, Jeff Gordon won his 85th race and secured third place on the all time win list. He continued to forge ahead, believing in himself and his Hendrick Motorsports team and keeping his eye on the prize, another championship.

    Two time champion Tony Stewart has been through the gamut of emotions in the last two years, from becoming the owner of his own team, to winning his first race in his own cars to struggling to get out of his own way this year. Smoke’s luck reached rock bottom with an uncharacteristic 30th place finish 2 laps down in Bristol last week. Smoke proclaimed in Michigan that they didn’t need to make the chase if they couldn’t perform any better than they were. “There is no use in being in the chase if you can’t challenge for the win.” He said. So when the white flag flew at Atlanta and Smoke made a classic sprint car dive to the inside of Kurt Busch in a Hail Mary move for 3rd his fans held their breath. Smoke’s talent had never been in question but his luck that was something else. But Smoke held on to the Office Depot Chevrolet and made the move work looking more like the two time daring, devil may care champion that his fans have grown to love. He never gave up. He was frustrated. He was down. But he was never out. He pushed himself and his team harder than he had ever pushed before and he made the decision to succeed and to continue on to the chase.

    In June, Dale Earnhardt Jr sat 3rd in the points and was a picture of consistency. But lady luck would not be on his side. A string of bad finishes and misfortunes hit at absolutely the worse time, the end of the race for the chase. The media began doubting he would make the Chase. The slide was terminal they hinted. Even with all the improvement in the driver and the team there was still something missing. Pit stops were slow. The car had no speed. The qualifying efforts were poor. The race results slipped to top 20 finishes instead of top 10 finishes. The nay sayers pointed their fingers and the negativity flowed like water from a tap. But this time something was different about Dale Jr. This time he didn’t give in to the negativity. Instead he said we are working on the problems. He was honest. He was upfront but he never lost his swagger or his confidence. In Atlanta even with a bad car and handling problems, Earnhardt Jr held on to 9th place in the points. Going into Richmond he would only have to pull a 20th or better finish to secure his Chase spot. “That is the job we got, so we will try. I feel confident and you don’t stop trying until it’s over.” Earnhardt said after the race. And that is the secret after all to his being there isn’t it? He never quit trying. He pushed on and in doing so he found that his goal was within his reach.

    All of these situations have a common thread. People took control of situations that were not in their control. The fans took control to outlast the weather and show their devotion to their sport. Jeff Gordon took control of his abilities and over came a slump by refusing to accept anything less than being a championship contender. Tony Stewart took a string of bad luck and in true Smoke fashion man handled it until it became something he could out drive. Dale Jr. dug deep inside and reached out for a new voice on the radio and found his confidence and belief in his talents.

    All could have walked away. All could have said it was a great ride but… Instead they persisted through the storms, the trials, the bad luck, and the negativity. They reached back and found the time tested and true adage of racing…It ain’t over until the checkered flag waves and the check clears the bank. When they did they found the truth in racing. Persistence equals success every single time.

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

     Congratulations to Ron Hornaday on his Camping World Truck victory. It was awesome to see the champ in victory lane again.

    Congratulations to Carl Edwards on his Nationwide Series win.

    Congratulations to Jeff Gordon on his hard fought victory in the Sprint Cup Series and a historical 85th win to take sole position of 3rd on the all time win list. Not bad for a kid whose mustache use to be penciled in with eye brow pencil.

    Kudos to Tony Stewart for one of the most incredible Hail Mary passes the sport has seen in a long time.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Bristol Chooses Fall Champions

    Bristol Chooses Fall Champions

    The week at Bristol was like Disneyland for a race fan. There were 4 races from 4 different classes of cars. There was smoke from tires. The aroma of high test fuel hung in the air. The scent of E15 lingered just long enough to tingle in your nose. The roar of lions and tigers and bears oh my echoed through out the valley of thunder. This was heaven. This was racing at its best.Bristol displayed her pageantry much like an old time joust. Contestants came from all over the country to bide for her hand. But only a few would be chosen as crown princes for 2011.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Bristol’s week was sectioned up differently than other weekends. The Whelen Modified and the Camping World Trucks run on Wednesday. The reason for this difference according to Lori Worley, Public Relations official for Bristol Motor speedway is, “The reason we don’t race on Thursday is that Food City, who sponsors our March Cup event and August Nationwide event, has a huge fan experience in downtown Bristol on Thursday night. More than 25,000 people attend the event, which features driver autograph sessions, live music, free food, etc. and it’s very important to them that the event is successful. So that’s the reason we race Wednesday instead of Thursday.” Little do they know that Bristol’s race fans win all the way around, not only do they get an extra day of vacation for the race weekend, the racing is top notch and the fan experience is icing on the cake.

    Wednesday saw a hard fought Whelen modified race that was for the most part dominated by Ryan Newman. Newman who had his win in New Hampshire revoked by NASCAR for an unfortunate mistake by engine builders Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines, when they mistakenly placed the wrong gaskets on the engine for the Kevin Manion entry, was out to prove that win was not because of the illegal engine.

    “This is a little bit of a redemption for us, to come out here and redeem ourselves a little bit in respect to people’s opinions after Loudon,” Newman said, “It was just a really fun race, the yellow flags at the start kind of slowed everybody’s thoughts, but getting back to green flag racing, I thought we saw some really good racing. It was a lot of fun.”

    Justin Bonsignore finished second followed by Todd Szegedy who came from a lap down to finish third after being in multiple on track incidents and losing a spark plug wire. James Civali and Patrick Emerling rounded out the top five. The highest placing series regular was Frank Fleming. Series icon Teddy Christopher did not compete in the race due to the lack of ride.

    The Camping World Trucks put on an equally exciting show, with Kevin Harvick winning his third truck race in a row.Bristol is Bristol however and the race was not without its controversy. Elliott Sadler driving the 24 truck for the Joe Denette Motorsports team this week had contact with Kyle Busch when Busch moved up the track too soon having not cleared Sadler’s truck. Sadler clipped the 18 in the Right rear corner and turned Busch into the wall. Busch then slowed on the track waiting for Sadler to come back around and hooked Sadler causing minimal damage to the 24. Busch retreated to the garage where efforts were made to repair the badly damaged KBM entry were unsuccessful. Post race comments were heated with Kyle Busch insinuating that Sadler took him out because of “where his paycheck comes from.”

    Friday, would bring the one day show of the Nationwide Series into the spotlight. The pole would be the familiar Joe Gibbs entry of Kyle Busch. The outside front row would be occupied by Gibbs team mate Joey Logano.  Logano would make the firm announcement of ‘No more Mr. Nice Guy’ before the race began.

    The field hosted its normal cup regulars with the exception of Brad Keselowski who was still nursing a fractured ankle and was replaced with Parker Kligerman in the Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesdays Dodge Charger.

    The race was a hard fought battle between Clint Bowyer and the Gibbs team mates. Bowyer who was on board the Rheem Chevrolet for KHI led a good portion of the race leading for 109 laps.

    But in the end it would be Kyle Busch beating team mate Joey Logano by the smallest margin in track history since the beginning of electronic scoring in 1993. Busch would win his fourth consecutive nationwide series race and 50th victory in the series, by just .019 seconds.

    “It’s awesome,” Busch said of the 50th win, his 23rd in his past 51 Nationwide starts. “We had Mark with us there in Loudon [when Busch tied the record July 16], and it was a phenomenal way to win 49 races and tie Mark Martin. And then to come here and to be able to beat his record here at Bristol, one of my favorite places and one of the team’s favorite places, it was certainly an awesome race.”

    The top five would be Logano, Bowyer, Edwards and Aric Almirola with Almirola being the highest finishing Nationwide regular.

    The Sprint Cup race was a must see event. With Ryan Newman leading the field to the green flag and taking the lead early Newman would consistently run in the top 10 all day. Not so for team mate Tony Stewart who had a very uncharacteristically bad day starting 42nd and finishing 28th 4 laps down to the field.

    The dominant horse in the field would prove to be the 24 car of Jeff Gordon who would lead 5 different times for a race high 206 laps. Gordon who would come out of the pits on the final stop in 4th would climb back to 3rd but was unable to get past Martin Truex Jr for 2nd.

    The race win would instead go to Brad Keselowski in the Miller Lite Blue Deuce of Penske Racing. Keselowski whose race average over the last 4 races is 1.52, took the lead on lap 421 and never looked back. The obvious elated Keselowski said of his victory, “An awesome race car. An awesome race team. Penske Racing. The night race at Bristol! This is the race that Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt win. It’s the race of champions. I can’t believe it. There are races that pay more. There are races that might have a little more prestige, but this is the coolest damn one of them all. We won it!”

    Four teams can now breathe a sigh of relief having clinched their chase spots. Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards all sealed up their chase spots after the race in Bristol.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr, who now has 36 points on 10th place Tony Stewart, could clinch his spot after Atlanta with a strong finish. Crew Chief Steve Letarte said Monday morning that the 88 team would be taking their Kansas/Charlotte car to Atlanta. “That car that always ends up in the front of the race. We want to put on a great show for the fans.” Letarte stated that they feel it is important to keep their chase fate in their hands by racing conservatively and once that chase berth was solidified fans would see a more aggressive and very different 88 team.

    The joust ended, sadly for those in the stands and in front of television sets around the world; with relief for those participants who escaped with their competitive spirits intact.  Bristol choose her champions. They fought their battles with great spirit and with great respect to the lady. Her champions will stand until the spring when again the joust will begin anew.

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

    Congratulations to Ryan Newman on his Whelen modified series victory. For the record, anyone who has followed the series knew the gasket mistake did not win the race in New Hampshire.

    Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on his Camping World Truck Series victory. Three in a row is a statement that KHI takes the owners championship very very seriously.

    Congratulations to Kyle Busch on his Nationwide Series Win. 50 wins in any series is nothing to sneeze at. But 50 in the ultra competitive Nationwide series is a true showing of talent.

    Congratulations to Brad Keselowski on his phenomenal performance not just in his win at Bristol, but over the last few weeks. Some never doubted it would happen. Those that did, don’t anymore.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Danica Patrick Announces Full-Time Commitment: Was Popularity Compromised For Talent?

    Danica Patrick Announces Full-Time Commitment: Was Popularity Compromised For Talent?

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR.com” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]When it was first announced that IZOD IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick would be officially making her debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the 2010 season, the internet exploded with the fans blogging about what type of impact she would have on the sport.

    With many unanswered questions because of her lack of experience behind the wheel of the much heavier stock car, and the fact that her Indy car career was less than stellar at best.

    The fans began to take sides after they realized she was serious about her attempt to try and compete in a series, which is nowhere near the types of cars she grew up racing in. Skepticism ran rampant as the season progressed, and Patrick herself made it hard for the fans to gauge if indeed she had what it took to compete at this level, since her results reflected her lack of experience.

    Patrick ran a total of 13 races in 2010 without a top-five, or top-10 finish, and only finished one race on the lead lap. With each passing race, we heard the watered down versions of why she might become an overnight success, with most of them based on her one victory that came in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Even though her results were nowhere near what she felt she was capable of, she continued to pursue her dream of one day becoming a star in a series where most felt her popularity and GoDaddy’s marketing skills took over.

    After all it is was founder and CEO of GoDaddy.com Bob Parson’s, who thrust Patrick into the limelight with his unique marketing strategy, while capitalizing on the sex sells society that we live in today. The only lingering question that had yet to be answered was, did popularity take over where talent used to be the main focus when a driver came into the series?

    Parson’s himself said that, “This is not only big news for NASCAR fans; it has all the ingredients for some major GoDaddy-esque marketing magic.” “If she decided to move into ice skating, I’d go with her. The only issue I have is if I’m stroking the check, because she certainly is one of a kind. I expect to be able to (sponsor her), but business is business. You have to make hay while in the prime of your life, and she’s definitely (there),” said Parsons.

    Kyle Petty, who lately has become one of Patrick’s biggest detractors once, said that, “She’s not Dario Franchitti and she’s not Tony Stewart. She’s not really shown over there [in the Indy Racing League] and won races and done stuff over their numbers-wise.” Petty also added, “She’s just a marketing machine, and let’s look at the facts and be blunt about it. If she gets in that car and doesn’t win races, it’s not the car, it’s not the engines and it’s not the team.”

    These comments along with a few others during the months leading up to her big announcement that she would indeed pursue a full-time career in NASCAR, has set the tone for her transition from open wheel to the NNS. The hype along with the expectations from her fans followed her into the 2011 season, where so far in seven starts she has lead four of the 1134 laps she has competed in, while picking-up one top-five, and three top-10 finishes.

    Whether or not this was a big enough improvement to keep her detractors at bay, was clearly seen by the numerous comments after each race with the consensus usually being a lop-sided victory for the nay-sayers. Yet none of this kept has kept her or her loyal fans from believing the dream of becoming NASCAR’s next biggest star based on talent, and not on popularity alone as we shall see with today’s official announcement that Patrick will be behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet, full-time in 2012.

    “I’m excited to start the next chapter. … I’m ready to go. We can finally put the rumors to rest — I am going full-time NASCAR with Go Daddy next year,” said Patrick officially during today’s new conference at GoDaddy’s headquarters in Arizona. “I’m very excited to finally say it,” Patrick said. “From the first time I got out of the car in the ARCA race at Daytona [in 2010], it was the most fun I ever had in a race car. It probably had to do with the bumping, but it was the most fun I ever had in a car and I think that really started it.”

    Patrick now has the ball in her court, and her destiny lies within her own grasp whether or not she is the real deal, or just another pretty face trying to capitalize on her good looks. The season will be one her toughest not only in the stands, but also on the track since the NNS runs 34 races and 8,063 laps, as compared to 18 races and about half the laps in a much heavier car.

    The scrutiny would have continued no matter which series she would have ultimately chosen, and only Patrick herself knows where her limitations lie, as well as what she is capable of achieving. Her final decision to race full-time in NASCAR is no longer an experiment, but after today has become a reality and she is ready to jump in with both feet. Popularity and talent can go hand in hand, but that will be up to her to decide since she is the one who made the choice to try and defeat the odds and seek after what many woman before her have dreamed about.

    “I’ve truly enjoyed my experience in NASCAR to the point I want to do it full time. I feel like in the last year, I’ve really come around much more on the track and top-10s are happening much more frequently and I feel like I’m getting it more all the time.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    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 42nd 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 10th in the No. 17 Kroger Ford Fusion; David Ragan, driving the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion, who brought home a 12th place finish; and pole sitter Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, who finished a disappointing 20th 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 12th.

    “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 15th 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 35th and lost two positions in the point standings, falling to a disappointing 14th, 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 29th place start to finish 11th.

    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 27th 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 35th, it was no surprise to see him drive as hard as he could to a top-ten finish. With Clint Bowyer’s 8th place finish at Michigan, he has managed to hang on to the 11th 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 35th, 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.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

    Not to be outdone by the weather at Pocono last weekend, Watkins Glen International took it one step further with a full course, one day rain delay. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Monday matinee Cup race at the Glen.

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Surprising:  In a race in which he started from the pole position and clearly dominated, leading three times for a record-high 49 laps, it was surprising that Kyle Busch was not in Victory Lane yet again. The driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota took the checkered flag in the third position, one back from his runner up position at Pocono the weekend before.

    Busch lost the lead on the final restart, a green-white-checkered one at that, of the race. Known for his usually stout re-starts, Busch made a surprising mistake in Turn One, taking it just a bit wide enough to allow both Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose through to the lead.

    “Just knew exactly what not to do and did it anyway,” Busch said. “I just screwed up.”

    “I felt like we were right there and had a shot to win,” Busch continued. “I knew it was going to come down to one corner and I messed it up.”

    Surprisingly, although Busch did not score the win, he did re-emerge as the co-leader in the point standings. Busch climbed two spots to tie with Carl Edwards, both atop the Chase leader board with 752 points each.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising to see road course redemption collide with another first time winner, resulting in Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, being in Victory Lane.  With his loss of the win at Sonoma due to his own error firmly behind him, Ambrose redeemed himself to become NASCAR’s fifth first-time winner of the season.

    “I’ve fought so much to get here, to finally win and be in Victory Lane is a dream come true,” Ambrose said. “To win in the Cup Series is an incredible feeling and I’m very, very proud.”

    Ambrose’s win was Richard Petty Motorsports first since 2009 when Kasey Kahne won on the road course at Infineon. Ambrose’s win officially came on his 105th Cup start.

    “It’s just a dream day,” Ambrose continued. “The sacrifices you make to be a contender in the Cup Series, to finally get to Victory Lane is a dream come true for me.”

    Surprising:  As surprising as Brad Keselowski’s ‘Iron Man’ performance was at Pocono, with his win there in spite of his broken ankle, the driver of the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’ pulled off an ‘Iron Man Redux’, with a runner up score at the Glen.

    “I wouldn’t say it got easier,” Keselowski said of racing with his injured ankle. “But when your car is fast, you can put a lot of stuff behind you and make it work.”

    “I think that’s about as good as the racing gets right there,” Keselowski continued. “I’m proud to be a part of it. Life is good when you have fast race cars.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the stars of several other traditionally good road racers shone at the Glen. Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished seventh and AJ Allmendinger, who started outside pole in his No. 43 Best Buy Ford, finished eighth.

    Allmendinger was particularly proud to not only see his Richard Petty Motorsports teammate in Victory Lane, but also took great pride in his comeback after an altercation with Kurt Busch early in the race.

    “It’s great to see Marcos in Victory Lane and it’s great for the team,” Allmendinger said. “I’m proud of my guys and proud of the way we fought back all day. The car was fast.”

    “Our Target Chevy was really good,” Juan Pablo Montoya said. “I thought we had a winning car. We were really close but it was all okay. It was a good day for us.”

    Surprising:  It was most surprising to see Boris Said and Greg Biffle channeling the fighting spirits of two other competitors, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch. This week, instead of Johnson and Busch feuding, it was Said and Biffle who were trading paint on the track and harsh words in the garage as well.

    Said, standing in for Landon Cassill in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction/Thank A Teacher Today Security Benefit Chevrolet, was furious with the way Biffle, in his No. 16 Valvoline Ford, raced him in the waning laps, especially since Biffle was a lap down at the time.

    Said accused Biffle of ‘flipping him off’ and Biffle countered by accusing Said of causing the last race crash that sent two cars hard into the wall. After the race, the disagreement really heated up into not only harsh words but also some attempted punches.

    “He wouldn’t even let me get out of the car and he comes over and throws a few little baby punches,” Said said of Biffle. “Then when I get out, he runs away and hides behind some big guys.”

    “But he won’t hide from me long,” Said continued. “I won’t settle it out on the track. It’s not right to wreck cars.”

    “But he’ll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days.”

    Biffle, for his part, had equally strong reactions.

    “Let me tell you something,” Biffle said. “Boris, the ‘road course ringer’ caused that wreck. He did the same thing to me earlier in the race.”

    “Then ‘Mr. Class’ pulls in behind my truck after the race today,” Biffle continued. “How unprofessional and disrespectful.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the aforementioned feud between Johnson and Busch did not continue to percolate at the Glen, especially since the two drivers were nowhere near each other on the race track.

    The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge spun early in the race and then lost his brakes on Lap 49 after a tire failure sent him hard into the wall. Busch did not finish the race, scored in the 38th position, causing him to fall two positions to sixth in the point standings.

    “I had a big problem getting into the braking zones today,” Busch said. “I had to crank eight rounds of front brake into our car just to survive.”

    “All that does is generate brake heat and I blew out the left-front tire,” Busch continued. “It was a bummer of a day.”

    Johnson, on the other hand, had a top-ten finish in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet. The five-time champ currently sits just six points behind Chase co-leaders Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

    “We had a great day,” Johnson said. “To have the pace that we did all day long, even though we weren’t up there leading, we had a very fast race car and that’s what we wanted to have here.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising that a 15th place finish left NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his crew chief Steve Letarte feeling so very optimistic. Both agreed that they ‘did what they had to do’ to solidify their place in the Chase, a place where Junior has not been for the past three years.

    Dale Junior, admittedly not a lover of road course racing, scored his first top-15 in six years of racing at the Glen. The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet now sits solidly in the ninth spot in the Chase standings.

    “I think we’re a good enough team to make the Chase bar none,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We should be able to get in there no problem.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising at all that the calls for safer barriers at Watkins Glen International have intensified after several very hard hits at the road course in the midst of the Finger Lakes.

    Not only did Kurt Busch hit hard into the wall, but Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, also lost his brakes and took a nasty lick head on into the tire barrels.

    “Something blew out in the left front,” Hamlin said after being checked and released from the infield care center after his hit. “I had no brakes. There was nothing you could do.”

    The worst of the hard hits, however, came in the final lap of the race where David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford, wrecked hard himself and then spun into David Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, sending him into the air and into the wall as well.

    Both Davids were rattled but escaped major injuries, exiting gingerly from their mangled race cars as they attempted to catch their collective breaths.

    “It’s just a product of close quarters racing at the end,” Ragan said. “I’m sore. That was a hard hit.”

    “I looked down at my feet and my pedals and my leg rests were all pushed over,” Ragan continued. “It’s a shame that a race track we go to in 2011 doesn’t have a better wall design all the way around the race track.”

    “Hopefully they’ll look at that,” Ragan said. “I’ve been to some dirt tracks that have better walls than that.”

    “This is one of the bigger hits I would say, but it’s part of the gig,” Reutimann said. “You sign up to do this stuff every once and awhile and you’re going to hit something.”

    “Overall I’m okay,” Reutimann continued. “I’m thinking where I hit would probably be a good place for SAFER barriers.”

    “I’m good and will be ready for Michigan next week.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished a solid 12th at Watkins Glen, Roush Fenway Racing’s top finisher in Monday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen. Edwards is now tied with Kyle Busch for the lead in the Sprint Cup point standings.

    “Should I be worried that I no longer sit alone atop the point standings?” Edwards said. “Of course not. I’m NASCAR’s resident pretty boy, and like it or not, I even look good in a ‘tie.’”

    I hear Boris Said has it out for my Roush Fenway Greg Biffle. Boris said one day soon, a driver will show up at the race track with a black eye. I tend to believe him. Stranger things have happened. Heck, twice a year, a driver shows up at the track with an afro!”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch led 49 of 92 laps at Watkins Glen and was leading on the race’s final restart with two laps to go. But both Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose slipped by on the restart, and Ambrose muscled his way to the win. Busch finished third, his series-best 11th top 5 of the year, and is now tied with Carl Edwards atop the point standings.

    “M&M’s may simply melt in your mouth,” Busch said, “but apparently, leads evaporate altogether in my hands.”

    How about poor Denny Hamlin, losing his brakes on lap 66 and crashing hard into the Turn 1 wall? He’s okay, but with brake issues on top of all the engine problems he’s experienced this year, you have to believe there will be some changes with that team. I say it’s time for Viagra to return to NASCAR sponsorship, and Hamlin’s No. 11 car would be a perfect fit for a product with a proven solution to equipment failure.”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: After a week of feuding with Kurt Busch, Johnson finished 10th at Watkins Glen, scoring his 13th top-10 finish of the year. Johnson is now third in the point standings, trailing Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch by six.

    “So, Kurt Busch says he’s ‘in my head?’” Johnson said. “Well, he’s out of his mind. Now, he needs to get out of mind. Anyway, I finished 28 places better than he, which just goes to show that Kurt’s a punk, and karma’s a bitch.”

    4. Kurt Busch: After winning Saturday’s Nationwide race subbing for Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, Busch found the going much rougher during Monday’s rescheduled Sprint Cup race. Busch spun out on lap 4, then blew a tire and slammed the Turn 5 tire barrier on lap 49. He finished a disappointing 38th, and dropped two places to sixth in the point standings, 40 out of first.

    “It’s nice to know,” Busch said, “that I can get in Keselowski’s car and win a race. Especially since I, the former driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, have witnessed Brad get into my car and win. Twice.”

    At The Glen, I barely made it to the halfway point of the race. You could say I couldn’t ‘break a sweat,’ which, incidentally, is exactly what Jimmie Johnson said about my fighting ability.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth at Watkins Glen, posting his first top-10 result since Daytona on July 2nd. Harvick is now fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 14 behind Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

    “I’m certainly pleased with the result,” Harvick said. By no means am I a road course ringer. Now, if I would have been in Boris Said’s shoes, I would have been a road course wringer, because somebody would have been choked.”

    You may have seen me throw out the first pitch at the Angels-Yankees game inNew Yorklast week. One thing’s for sure: that baseball won’t get a ticket for speeding on pit lane. My incident with Kyle Busch at Darlington, coupled with my pitching skill, just goes to show that his right arm can’t hit a target, moving or otherwise.”

    6. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led six laps at Watkins Glen on his way to a 13th-place finish in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen. He remained seventh in the point standings and is 52 behind Carl Edwards.

    “What I finish,” Gordon said. “That last lap was a lot like a Kurt Busch radio tirade, because all ‘hell’ broke loose. And David Reutimann was much like Indy Car driver Will Power at New Hampshire—they both flipped. Of course, Power’s middle finger salute to the race officials drew a fine. I guess that’s the ‘Power’ of ‘one.’ You would never see a Sprint Cup driver flip off NASCAR officials. Not because our manners are any better than Power’s, but NASCAR officials don’t have a problem not throwing a caution. And they don’t need any rain to do it.”

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth suffered an early setback at Watkins Glen, running out of gas midway through the race, but fought back to come home 14th. He moved up one spot to fifth in the point standings, and is now 28 out of first.

    “Thanks to Greg Biffle for the push back to the pits after I ran out of gas,” Kenseth said. “According to Boris Said, that’s the only ‘push back’ Biffle’s good for. If Biffle does show up for an upcoming race with a black eye, then he’ll be the only ‘Said head’ who’s not a member of Boris’ fan club.”

    8. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished 27th, the last car on the lead lap, after his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil Chevy spun and was hit by another car. Stewart fell one spot in the point standings to tenth, and is 25 ahead of Clint Bowyer in 11th.

    “I wouldn’t classify my finish as ‘Heluva Good,’” Stewart said. “I would, however, classify Boris Said’s challenge to Greg Biffle as a ‘heluva goad.’”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski nearly captured his second-consecutive win of the year, leading with one to go at Watkins Glen before Marco Ambrose bulled past him. Keselowski settled for second and further solidified his wildcard chances.

    “Ambrose is the first Australian to win a NASCAR race,” Keselowski said. “I say that’s ‘Aus-some.’ He’s establishing quite a few milestones. Last year, he became the first Australian to stall his engine while leading the race.”

    10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 15th in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen, joining Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in the top 15. Earnhardt improved one position in the Sprint Cup point standings, and is in ninth with four races before the Chase opener.

    “I like my chances to make the Chase For The Cup,” Earnhardt said, “if the Chase started tomorrow. Hopefully, I can survive these next four races and maintain my position. One thing’s for sure: I won’t be winning my way into the Chase.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

  • The Story At Pocono…No Guts No Glory!

    The Story At Pocono…No Guts No Glory!

    Pocono, home of mountains, endangered ducks, heart shaped bath tubs, and the location of the latest victory for a very very gutsy young man named Brad Keselowski.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”273″][/media-credit]The Good Sam RV Insurance 500 was delayed by rain for 90 minutes. For 90 minutes, Joey Logano and his crew chief Zippy did the rain dance. They would have probably sacrificed small cut out crew chief effigies had they been able to get them for it to continue raining. But it didn’t. And when the green flag fell again it was Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch showing the way.

    A late race caution as a result of contact between Juan Pablo Montoya and Kasey Kahne would set up the final plays of the race. It would be the Blue Deuce up against the M&M’s Toyota of Kyle Busch and the No. 48 of 5 time and reigning Champ Jimmie Johnson. Johnson dove to the bottom of the track making it three wide and challenging for the lead into one. But the Blue Deuce would hold him off and Kyle Busch would hold his ground, leaving the 48 to slip back to 3rd and ultimately 4th. Once the nose of the Miller Lite Dodge Charger cleared into clean air it was smooth sailing. Well as smooth as it can be with a driver with a broken left ankle and multiple bruises lacerations and incredible back pain.

    Brad Keselowski proved he was everything and more that his mentor, Dale Earnhardt Jr., thought he was back in 2007 when he signed him to drive his Nationwide Series Car full time. Keselowski never looked back then and he never looked back today. For that matter even with the painful reminder of the broken ankle that had to be drained of fluid and blood during the red flag, he never looked back to Road Atlanta where he broke the ankle hitting a non safer barrier on Wednesday.

    In victory lane, Keselowski showed he had more than just a lot of guts, he also had humility. “I am no hero. Heroes are those guys that died in Afghanistan yesterday. I just drive race cars. This win is for them.”

    3 Time Champion Darrell Waltrip, tweeted about the young driver, “If you think you can, you will, if you think you can’t, you won’t! Great drivers rise above adversity, matter a fact, they thrive on it!”

    Keselowski earned that victory. Flat out. He and his team worked for it. He claimed it, and he then he dedicated to people he felt were more deserving of hero status than he was.

    But in the celebration something was over looked. Something that perhaps NASCAR was glad was over looked, the failure of the series to protect the drivers in accordance with its Driver Safety First initiative.

    The driver safety first policy has brought us a lot of incredible things that have made the sport safer for the drivers, S.A.F.E.R. barriers for one. As a matter of fact those barriers are so important that Steve O’Donnell of NASCAR told me, “We don’t race on tracks without S.A.F.E.R. barriers.”

    They may not race on tracks without them but teams are forced to test on tracks that don’t have them. Teams are forced to go to these tracks and test because of the no testing rule put in place in 2008 by NASCAR.

    NASCAR said at the time that it was a cost containment measure that was requested by the team owners. Yet the teams continue to test at tracksthat are outside of the watchful eye of NASCAR.

    A lack of testing has lead to a decrease in competition according to Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace. Both of whom are past champions and team owners in the sport.

    With the current situation of empty seats and follow the leader racing one has to ask what is being gained here. There is no cost containment when the teams test anyway. There is no cost containment when they spend millions of dollars on computer programs and engineers to create ways of getting around the testing ban.

    It’s not bad enough that the drivers have an increased chance of getting hurt for the sake of being competitive on the race track. Once they do get injured they put others at risk by driving injured. In the protective boot, Keselowski could not work the brakes and clutch the way he needed to because he couldn’t feel the pedal. It was illustrated when he slid through his pit box on the first pit stop of the day.

    Other situations of drivers hurt but that raced anyway include, Denny Hamlin following Knee surgery during an off week, Kyle Petty with a femur fracture, Mark Martin with an injured leg, Ken Schrader in a flap jacket that impaired movement, and the biggest Dale Earnhardt with a broken vertebra in his neck. These are not the only examples but they are some of the most vivid.

    It’s time for NASCAR to look at the big picture. If you are going to put driver’s safety first that means it’s always first. That means that you can’t look the other direction when teams go to test for Watkins Glen at Road Atlanta and a young rising star hits a concrete steel reinforced wall without a S.A.F.E.R. barrier and then is dependant on two other drivers to assist him from the car because they reached him before the safety team did.

    You can not claim safety first when you allow an injured and obviously impaired driver to compete. You can not claim safety first when teams must test to be competitive and yet you prevent them from testing where the testing would be done at the most up to date tracks with modern safety features. You can not claim safety first when they can not test where the testing would be the most beneficial to all at the track they are going to race at.

    If teams were allowed to test at the track they were going to race at, it would improve the competition on that track. If the competition improved at places like California, Pocono and Sonoma for example, perhaps their ticket sales and TV ratings would go up. It’s a win/win situation.

    If the teams were allowed to test at the track they were going to race on the information from the car’s black box would not be lost for other teams also competing on that same track when there is a serious accident. But because Keselowski’s wreck was not a NASCAR sanctioned track that information is available to the team involved and it’s drivers and engineers only.

    So why is it, NASCAR continues to hold to a policy that is in itself a giant loop hole? Why do they continue to hold to a policy that is at best ineffective at accomplishing the task it was meant to accomplish?

    This is the second safety issue within the last two weeks within NASCAR’s upper echelon of competition. In both cases the drivers were lucky to escape with their lives. It’s time for NASCAR to become proactive and not reactive. It is the policy of wait and see and if it happens to be retired. It is time for NASCAR to live up to the promises and policies they already have in place and to change the outdated ones that don’t work. If for no other reason than the world has lost enough heroes and champions, we don’t need to lose anymore.

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

    Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr on his Nationwide Victory in Iowa. The quote of the week came from the NNS broadcast when Ken Schrader commented on Stenhouse Jr being upset with team mate Carl Edwards, “We used to get turned over and on fire before we got mad, now it takes a tire donut”.  Which leads us to the reminder that racing is still a full contact sport.

    Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on his Camping World Truck Series Victory in Pocono.

    Congratulations to Brad Keselowski on his victory in the Sprint Cup Series Race at Pocono. It was an inspiring and gutsy show of why fans look at their favorite driver as a hero. It is also the perfect illustration of drivers as athletes.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400 at Indy

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400 at Indy

    With Big Machine Records as the presenting sponsor, the Indy pre-race festivities were destined to feature artists such as Reba McIntire and Rascal Flatts performing ‘America the Beautiful’ and the national anthem respectively, as well as CEO Scott Borchetta waving the green flag for the race start.

    [media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 18th annual Brickyard 400 presented by BigMachineRecords.com:

    Surprising:  In spite of leading the race at the halfway point, clicking off a position a lap in the final twelve laps of the race, and being the only car assured of finishing the race with enough fuel, it was surprising that the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon did not win the race.

    Gordon did, however, come in a solid second, improving his point standings to being just 52 points behind leader Carl Edwards. This was Gordon’s 14th top 10 finish in 18 races at Indianapolis Speedway and his ninth top-10 finish in 2011.

    “Oh my goodness what a day,” Gordon said. “I am so proud of this Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet team. I mean they were just flawless.”

    “It was all we could do to put pressure on those guys and hope they would run out,” Gordon said of his battle with those in danger of running out of fuel. “I passed all of them but one.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the one that Gordon could not get past was a driver with a family history as storied as the Brickyard itself. Dedicating the win to his father John, Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet won his first ever NASCAR race at the track where he had been coming with his family since he was a youngster.

    “You know I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and my Daddy has been trying to win this race for 35 years,” Menard said. “So this is for my Dad.”

    “I can’t believe we won Indy,” Menard continued. “This is just a really special place for my family and myself.”

    Menard made a little history at the Brickyard himself, becoming the first driver to win his first career race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is also the first Indy win in a Menard’s sponsored race car.

    This is Menard’s sixth top-10 finish in 2011 and his first top-10 finish in five races at Indy. He also became the fourth different first-time winner for the 2011 NASCAR season.

    Surprising:  One of the biggest surprises of the day was how many drivers pitted under green for fuel directly after a restart towards the end of the race. One of those drivers who did just that was NASCAR’s favorite son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in his No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet.

    Junior’s fuel strategy did not, however, play to his advantage. He finished 16th and dropped one more position in the point standings to tenth, just barely maintaining Chase contention status.

    “You don’t want to be hanging around out there on the race track when everybody else is already inside a fuel window,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “So, yeah I can understand why it turned out like it did.”

    Not Surprising:  Since the Brickyard is considered one of the ‘big’ races on the NASCAR schedule, it was not surprising that two drivers who have won ‘big’ races in the past had good runs. Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet and winner of the Darlington Showtime Southern 500, scored the third place finish and Jamie McMurray, Daytona 500 and defending winner of the Brickyard 400 last year, took fourth in his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet.

    “It was a great run for the Furniture Row Chevy and my guys worked their butts off all weekend,” Smith said. “This is not a great track for me, so I am happy and if I couldn’t win, the guy in Victory lane is my best friend on the circuit and I can’t wait to congratulate him.”

    “We got a little bit lucky today,” McMurray said. “We’ve had a tough year and a lot of things go wrong and a lot of bad luck. So, it’s very nice to have good luck and a good finish.”

    Surprising:  In spite of an uncertain future for 2012, with his ride for Rick Hendrick ending at the end of the season, Mark Martin in his No. 5 Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet pulled off a surprisingly good top-10 finish.

    Martin took the checkered flag at the Brickyard in eighth place, advancing his point standings by two spots up to the 18th position.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the winner of the final Nationwide race at Lucas Oil Raceway continued his great weekend run over at the Brickyard. Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, finished top-10.

    “It was kind of an up-and-down day for the Miller Lite Dodge,” Keselowski said of his ninth place run. “At the three-quarter part of the race, I thought we were going to win the Brickyard.”

    “It just didn’t quite work out, but we made our car faster throughout the day and I was proud of that.”

    Surprising:  Even Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, surprised himself by battling not only track position and fuel strategy but also a tussle with Tony Stewart in the pits to attain a top-10 finish.

    “I definitely had no idea that the day would be so ugly, but yet come out of it smelling like a rose I guess,” Busch said. “We worked our butts of this whole weekend trying to get something out of nothing.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of a crew chief change, Jeff Burton, RCR veteran and NASCAR statesman, continued his downward spiral. Burton finished 35th in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet.

    “We had a little miscommunication on pit road,” Burton said. “The radios blanked out and I couldn’t hear him (Burton’s new crew chief Luke Lambert). I drove by pit road and it just put us in a hole the rest of the day.”

    “We were fast but we just had a lot of crap go on.”

    Surprising:  With so many media pundits predicting a victory at Indy, it was surprising to see how badly Indy 500 champ Juan Pablo Montoya finished. JPM, piloting his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished 28th.

    “It sucks when you run good all day,” Montoya said. “We unloaded really bad but at the end, we were a really competitive car.”

    “Right now it’s all about looking at the future.”

    Not Surprising:  After their one, two finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it was not surprising to see the two drivers of Stewart Haas Racing have another fairly good day.  Tony Stewart, piloting the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet overcame adversity on the track and on pit road to finish sixth.

    Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, also had a decent day, finishing 12th. Both drivers maintained their positions solidly in the top ten in the point standings.

    “I just fought for everything I could get all day,” Stewart said. “We didn’t have the best car by any means.”

    “Whatever you get here, you appreciate it because you had to earn it,” Stewart continued. “You don’t get anything free here.”