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Tag: Dale Earnhardt Jr

  • It was a hot summer night and the track was burning…

    It was a hot summer night and the track was burning…

    The night seemed perfect. The glitz was all in place. The fireworks were breath taking. The excitement was palpable. The anticipation was not only visible but audible. There were two things on everyone’s mind; would Dale Earnhardt Jr be in the All Star race? Would the race be as bold as the fireworks in the pre-race show? The answer was a long drawn out one that left most unsatisfied with both answers.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The All Star race was hyped and billed as the most exciting race under the lights. Here was where the true determination and aggression of NASCAR’s finest would be seen. There were commercials that depicted it as a western gun fight and show down with NASCAR’s Mike Helton as the Sheriff quickly appearing to maintain law and order.  What it was, was overly complicated, strung out follow the leader racing that, unlike other races this year, didn’t even have a good ending.

    The Showdown although starting out with a bang, lost its fizzle early. It was dominated by David Regan and Brad Keselowski. There was never much doubt as to who the winner would be with Regan setting the fastest time in either section in qualifying; the questions were who would be second, would Dale Jr race his way in, who would be the fan vote.

    Keselowski showed dominance in his Miller Lite Dodge from the drop of the green flag. He had speed and handling and showed the slicing dicing skills of an experienced chef at the cutting block. He would lead the final segment until the final lap when Ragan would resume the lead. The two held a dominating distance over third place Marcos Ambrose. Earnhardt Jr would struggle through the event finishing a disappointing 6th.

    The driver’s introductions for the All Star Race were bright and inviting. With flashing lights and smoke and fireworks each driver and his team were introduced to the crowd. Each team had items that were thrown out to the crowd as they were cheered on to pit road. Smiles and fan interactions were in abundance with the exception of Denny Hamlin who never looked at the crowd. He walked over and shook hands with each of his crew and then walked to pit road in the group.

    When the fan vote was announced by all three Miss Sprint Cup’s, who had campaigned heavily for Brian Vickers and leaked information that the “obvious choice” was not in fact leading the vote, the noise level was deafening. Dale Earnhardt Jr would in fact compete in the All Star Race thanks to the fans. Earnhardt took a moment to thank not only his fans but all the fans that voted in the competition. As well as giving his own fans a shout out on the radio before the beginning of the race.

    Sprint announced that the voting exceeded 2 million votes this year. The most of any year since the fan votes inception. Despite early reports, Darrell Waltrip said that Earnhardt had indeed won by a landslide.

    Pole position for the All Star race was won by Kyle Busch on Friday evening, with Clint Bowyer starting on the outside front row. The first pit stall however would be selected by the winner of the pit crew challenge which was Denny Hamlin’s number 11 Fed Ex Toyota crew.

    The All Star race was hyped to the hilt. Track President Marcus Smith offered to pay any fines for fighting that might be incurred. The All Star race could have been an exciting and breath taking event if the drivers had been willing to push the issue of racing. In the end they were not.

    The race was an over structured, over complicated, and a too long glorified test session for the Coca Cola 600. Even the last 10 laps showed to be a strung out follow the leader affair. The most excitement came after the race when winner Carl Edwards destroyed the race winning car sliding through the grass and hitting a man hole cover and basically tearing the whole right front corner and suspension out from under the car.

    Second place driver Kyle Busch who scored his highest finish in his All Star Race career stated, “Sorry we didn’t give you any scoop (or) drama,” he said. Busch admitted the race was “tame”.  The trend seems to have begun in 2008 when the rule changes to the event began in earnest leading us to the current 100 lap structure that encourages follow the leader type racing. With the final 10 laps being the source of excitement. But this year even that was missing.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished a disappointing 14th in the race, suggested on Friday, that a simpler shorter format might guarantee more excitement for the fans. He suggested that adding other events on the bill would ensure that the fans got their money’s worth for the price of the ticket. Not a bad thought. It would certainly be better than keeping track of how many laps, how many segments, when are the mandatory pit stops, when can you add fuel, how many tires do you have to take. and when is the break.

    The All Star Race was a true gauge of the status of the competition in our sport today. It is a gauge as to why the fan base is decreasing on a regular basis. Between the poor racing, the commentators on the TV broadcast, the endless hollow promises, our sport has reached a crisis level. What has brought us here? Lots of things the biggest is money. And not the struggling economy, this started long before that. It began with greed. With a series sponsor that refused to allow competing companies to sponsor competitors. It was compounded by a series that wanted to govern who had a sponsor and what that sponsor’s product was. It was an unaccommodating series that signaled the end of support from companies like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. It was only last year that GT Vodka came into the Nationwide series on a limited schedule with JR. Motorsports.

    But perhaps the truest blow to the sport and its competitive ability came in 2008 when NASCAR eliminated testing. NASCAR eliminated testing at the request of the car owners when the economy tanked in 2007 on the claim that it would save them money. Truth is they replaced it with computer simulation programs and simulation engineers all of which in the long run probably cost at least as much as the testing did without the same results.

    1989 Winston Cup Champion, Rusty Wallace described the benefits of testing as “You can take the cars out there and unbolt the suspension and try different things and tune the car up and get it ready for that track. Your driver is out there practicing and honing their skills.” Wallace stated that the elimination of testing was the biggest blow to the sport in his opinion.

    When you look at the competition we are seeing week in and week out, and compare it to the description he gave is it any wonder we see cars that are evil and ill handling? Champions that are not competitive. Multiple part failures under stress. Tire compounds that are not compatible to track surfaces. If the teams were testing even on a limited basis, Wallace suggested 10 test sessions a year, we wouldn’t be seeing these kinds of issues.

    There is not a single driver in the Cup/Nationwide field that has not earned his way there. There is not a champion in the field now or ever who did not earn that championship with his abilities behind the wheel. And yet week after week we are asking the question what happened? How did a team with major factory support have brake failure 3 weeks in a row? How does a team with major factory support suffer right front tire failures 4 weeks in a row? These drivers both had won championships. They were not rookies. A Champion of the series relegated to the position of an also ran in a car that has factory support. A driver with 18 victories in the sport who seemingly could not get out of his own way for over 2 years? These men did not suddenly lose the ability to drive a race car. The companies that created the parts and pieces didn’t suddenly forget how or what they were doing. Teams that have been in the sport for several years didn’t suddenly forget how to build race cars.

    The COT is part of the issue. It came on the scene full time in 2008. The same time we did away with testing. It was then we began seeing multiple race failures. We replaced competitive motorsports with safety and series control. Now don’t misunderstand me, I would not trade the safety factors of this car for the old car. Not in a million years. Those factors have saved drivers lives as recently as the truck race at Dover and the cup race at Richmond. But the competitive element has to be there as well.

    Fans complain about Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch winning so many races and championships. The two of them are probably two of the most talented drivers on the circuit. The new car came easy for them. But if testing were again allowed, you would see more drivers win and compete for the win. You would see more confidence in the car from drivers in heavy traffic situations. You wouldn’t be seeing the All Star race used as a test session for the Coca Cola 600.

    This problem is only going to grow when the new COT is introduced in 2013. We will simply start the learning curve over again. With no testing and no experience in and with the car the problem will compound on itself yet again.

    Brian France, stated this past week that NASCAR needs Dale Jr to win to survive. And although it would be awesome to see Dale Jr in victory lane again, if for no other reason to silence the haters and the nay sayers, what NASCAR needs in order to survive is to bring back testing of the cars on the tracks they are going to race on. What NASCAR needs if it is to survive is to return to it’s competitive roots where we have more than two cars competing for the win. With the new points system and the ramifications of DNF’s, it seems only fair to level the playing field and give the drivers and teams back the foundations that they need to put on the show that made NASCAR a household name.

    The All Star race was like a $250,000 dollar fireworks display that when the switch was thrown the whole thing fizzled. The disappointment and the let down will have far reaching effects. Hopefully, NASCAR can figure out that the way to slow the hemorrhage is to go back to doing what they do best, Having 42 cars all going fast and turning left.

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

    Congratulations to Kyle Busch on his Camping World truck series win on Friday night. It was a perfect illustration of why you never give up until the checkered flag waves.

    Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on his first career Nationwide Series Win at Iowa. Welcome to the very exclusive club of talented drivers that have won before you.

    Congratulations to David Ragan on his Showdown win, and to Carl Edwards on his All Star Win. Conspiracy theorists please hush. The man crossed the line first. The win belongs to him until John Darby and Robin Pemberton say otherwise.

    Congratulations to Denny Hamlin’s Fed Ex team on their victory in the pit crew challenge. It was an awesome competition the best of the entire weekend in my opinion.

    Congratulations to Dale Jr. and his Jr. Nation on their victory in the fan vote. Remember always the parable of the sticks. Stand together and you can not be broken. Step apart and you will fail.

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards posted his fifth straight top-10 finish, and ninth of the year, with a seventh in the Fed Ex 400 at Dover. Edwards led 117 laps, and like Jimmie Johnson, who led 207, took four tires instead of two on the race’s final pit stop, which cost him a chance for the win. Edwards leads the Sprint Cup point standings with a 24-point edge over Jimmie Johnson.

    “It appears we were outsmarted by Matt Kenseth,” Edwards said. “Two tires was the right call. I’ve made some regrettable decisions during my career, most involving the Keselowski’s, Kevin Harvick, or the lids to oil coolers, but this one really pains me. Bob Osbourne yelled ‘Four!’ and the No. 99 Aflac Ford ‘ducked,’ out of contention.

    “In most cases, Matt’s not known for his bravery, but I have to commend him for such a ‘courageous’ call. I honestly thought with four tires we could catch him. It most cases, when Matt has seen me coming, he’s ran away. This time was no different, except that he ran away, with victory.”

    2. Kyle Busch: A week after his near throwdown with Kevin Harvick at Darlington, Busch registered a solid fourth at Dover despite an engine change that rendered him at the rear for the start. With his seventh top 10 of the year, Busch maintained the third spot in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 37.

    “I can’t let a disciplinary ruling from NASCAR get me down,” Busch said. “I went from ‘probation’ to ‘ovation.’ Frankly, I like it better when anyone but Kevin Harvick is giving me ‘a hand.’

    “Now, Unlike Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota engines, there’s no ‘quit’ in me. Thankfully, the new engine lasted. It was the ‘little engine that could.’ As for the Gibbs engine department, it’s a case of ‘so little engines that can.’”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started on the pole at Dover and led the most laps, 207, but his decision to take four tires on the final pit stop proved costly, as several drivers, including eventual winner Matt Kenseth, chose two. Johnson restarted 11th, and could only regain two spots and finished ninth. He remained second in the points, 24 behind Carl Edwards.

    “Now that’s what I call ‘championship caliber,’” Johnson said, “but only in that we were right on target in shooting ourselves in the foot.

    “Last week, Chad Knaus called Juan Montoya a ‘douchebag.’ Oh how the tables have turned. This time, however, it looks like Chad’s the douchebag, for calling for four tires instead of two. In short, it’s a case of ‘touché, douché.’

    “As expected, after last week’s Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick fiasco, nothing interesting happened at Dover. It went from ‘boor-dom’ to ‘boredom.’”

    4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth opted for two tires on the final pit stop at Dover and led the final 39 laps to win the Fed Ex 400, his second win of the year. On the crucial pit stop, Kenseth overruled crew chief Jimmy Fennig, who wanted four tires, and outsmarted Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, who had shared domination of the race to that point.

    “Not to toot my own horn,” Kenseth said, “but that was a gutsy call on my part. People can question my fortitude all they want, but I proved that it takes a ‘pair’ to take ‘two’ in that situation. That’s why I told Fennig to ‘Take two, and call me ‘champ’ in the morning.’”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 10th at Dover, posting his sixth top 10 of the year. He remained fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 54.

    “Congratulations to Matt Kenseth on the win,” Harvick said. “Matt is well-liked among other drivers. Ironically, he, like Kyle Busch, deserves everything coming to him.

    “NASCAR has ordered me to stay in my car. In other words, I should keep my HANS to myself. As such, I’ve come to appreciate the art of ‘restraint,’ at least until June 15th. I call that date the ‘Ides Of June.’ And Busch should heed the warning to beware the Ides of June. Why is it called the ‘ides?’ Because, if I were Busch, I’d watch my back, and I’d expect some payback,’ and I’d be on the lookout for the Budweiser car.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt led one lap at Dover, piloting the No. 88 Amp Energy Sugar Free/National Guard Chevy to a 12th-place finish. His winless streak now sits at 104 races, and Earnhardt admitted that he doesn’t feel a win is close.

    “It took 104 races,” Earnhardt said, “but finally, I’m able to admit defeat.

    “As of now, I’m not eligible to compete in the All Star Race at Charlotte on May 21st since I haven’t won. But even if I don’t win the Sprint Showdown, I fully expect the fans to vote me in. So, I’m appealing to my fans to vote for me, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I call that ‘cAMPaigning.”

    7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer held the lead when Juan Montoya’s spin brought out the race’s last caution on lap 361, and the No. 33 team’s decision to bolt on four tires seemed to be the right call. But Matt Kenseth took only two and left the pits in second, and soon overtook Mark Martin for the lead. Bowyer settled for sixth, his sixth top-10 finish of the year, and is now ninth in the point standings, 80 out of first.

    “I was beyond stunned,” Bowyer said, “that a Montoya spin could involve only him. Of course, I was also shocked that a four-tire stop was not the correct call. Sure, we were wise to put on right-side tires. That is, until we put on the ‘wrong-side’ tires.”

    8. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 21st at Dover, two laps down, after struggling with handling issues on a miserable day at the Monster Mile for Stewart Haas Racing. Newman fell one spot in the point standings to seventh, and is now 76 out of first.

    “Only one thing went ‘right’ for us at Dover,” Newman said, “and that was Juan Montoya’s No. 42 car, into the wall. That’s two weeks in a row in which someone’s said of Montoya, ‘I bet that left a mark.’ Take it from me. There’s a party-like atmosphere in the NASCAR hauler. Ask Juan. He’ll tell you they even serve ‘punch.’”

    9. Mark Martin: While most of the field pitted for tires during Sunday’s final caution, Martin chose to stay out, and that decision gave him the runner-up spot in the Fed Ex 400 at Dover. It was Martin’s best finish of the year and vaulted him three places in the point standings to 11th, 92 out of first.

    “How’s that for irony?” Martin said. “Everyone ‘re-tired,’ except me. For once in my life, the decision was easy to ‘stay out.’”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 16th at Dover after battling handling conditions all day, unable to keep his short streak of top-10’s alive. However, he vaulted three places in the Sprint Cup point standings to 13th, 112 out of first.

    “I envy Kyle Busch,” Hamlin said. “He’s only got four weeks of probation. I’ve already suffered through a year’s worth of stagnation.

    “I’ve been quite entertained by the Busch-Harvick feud. Over the years, I’ve had my disagreements with both of them. Luckily, NASCAR acted quickly and thereby prevented one or both from acting rashly and hurting someone. I think Kyle and Kevin are safe from harm anyway, because both their cars are equipped with drivers-side windbags.”

  • NASCAR Bad Boys: Top Ten Most Fined Sprint Cup Drivers

    NASCAR Bad Boys: Top Ten Most Fined Sprint Cup Drivers

    [media-credit name=”Joe Dunn” align=”aligncenter” width=”225″][/media-credit]

    This weekend’s race at Darlington provided a storyline to the viewer that will be talked about for weeks to come.  It was a simple phrase that we have heard several times throughout the year…..”Boys, have at it!” And that, they did!

    We saw a sucker punch thrown. Overheard a name-calling shouting match between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick’s team. We listened to rumors of a possible punch during a NASCAR meeting between Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman.

    We also saw Montoya accidentally get into the back of Johnson while Montoya’s actions were being scrutinized.  We even got to see a runaway car endangering the lives of NASCAR officials and crew members.

    After such an epic event, “Boys have at it!” will have consequences for the first time in 2011.  Those consequences come with a price tag in the form of a penalties.

    Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Most Fined Sprint Cup Drivers…..

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”233″][/media-credit]

    #10. Jeff Gordon, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, finds himself ranked #10 on our most fined list with $126,000 in assessed penalties.

    In 2007, Gordon’s car was found to have a fender flare which created an unfair advantage.  This infraction led to the single highest penalty of $100,000 for the team.

    Good Boy Gordon did manage to lose his temper and decked Jeff Burton after being wrecked at Texas Motor Speedway in 2010.

    Since the two were able to work through their spat, NASCAR did not penalize either driver.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”255″][/media-credit]

    #9. Car owner/driver and published author, Michael Waltrip and his team have been fined a minimal $140,500 despite some of his crazy antics.

    After initial qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500,  NASCAR inspectors found evidence in the engine manifold that Waltrip’s team had used an illegal fuel additive.  This became known as the “jet fuel” scandal, costing his team $100,000.

    An inappropriate gesture during a television broadcast in 2005 set him back $10,000.

    [media-credit name=”Motorsports Images and Archives” align=”alignleft” width=”250″][/media-credit] 

    #8.  Kurt Busch, winner of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Championship using the “Chase for the Cup” point system, is a bit of a hothead.  Busch and his team have been levied $156,000 in penalties.

    Tempers flared after some on-track antics between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart at Dover in 2007.  Busch ran into Stewart’s car on pit road, barely missing the jack man.

    The No. 2 Penske Dodge driver was fined $100,000 for endangering crew members on pit road.

    In another on-track scuffle, Busch bumped Robby Gordon’s car from behind, spinning him out and causing a caution to “allegedly” improve his position.  The bump cost Busch $10,000.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit] 

    #7. Some would say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a chip off the old block.  Naysayers would argue Jr. has a chip on his shoulder.  With $168,000 in penalties, we will let you decide.

    Dale Jr. took a hit when the COT debuted in 2007.  He and other Hendrick teammates were each fined $100,000 for unapproved modifications.

    2004 was the year of “Poop-gate.”  Earnhardt Jr. was fined $10,000 for using profanity during a live post-race interview.

    When asked about the significance of his fifth victory at Talladega, Jr. replied,  “It don’t mean s— right now. Daddy’s won here 10 times.”

    #6. The No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry driver, Martin Truex Jr. lands on our Top Ten list at no fault of his own.  Crew Chief, Kevin Manion, has garnered a whopping $175,000 in penalties for the Truex Jr. team.

    Manion’s biggest folly came in 2008 when the No. 1 Chevrolet failed a template inspection before the Coke Zero 400. The penalties levied were $100,000 and a six-race suspension.

    [media-credit name=”Steven Iles” align=”alignleft” width=”225″][/media-credit] 

    #5. Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch is a force to be reckoned with.  Holding the record for most NASCAR wins in a season between the top three NASCAR series comes with a price…$190,000 in penalties to be exact!

    We have all seen the endless replays of the skirmish between “Rowdy” Busch and Kevin Harvick from this weekend’s race at Darlington.  The tiff cost each driver $25,000 and earned them a four-race probation.

    Kyle is known for his garish antics.  He was recently penalized $25,000 for giving an obscene gesture to a NASCAR official during a live televised race.

    #4. Carl Long holds the record for the single largest penalty handed out by NASCAR at the tune of $200,000.

    What could Carl do to cost his team so much money you ask?

    After making just 23 career Cup starts and not appearing in a points-paying Cup race since 2006, Long felt he could qualifying for the 2008 All-Star Race and the Daytona 500. Preliminary to the All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Long overheated the engine.  His team made an engine switch.

    Under the NASCAR rules, the bad engine was examined.  It was later determined that the engine exceeded the maximum cubic-inch displacement specifications.

    In layman’s terms, Long was using an engine that was far bigger than NASCAR allows.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”227″][/media-credit] 

    #3. NASCAR elite driver and five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner, Jimmie Johnson, has managed to rack up the fines on his way to supremacy.

    Crew Chief, Chad Knaus, aka “Cheating Chad” has earned $202,500 in penalties for the team with his Go Big or Go Home mentality.

    Johnson was fined $10,000 for his role in the “Bottlegate” fiasco when he placed a Lowe’s logo in front of some plastic Powerade bottles after he got out of his car in Pocono Raceway’s Victory Lane.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignleft” width=”259″][/media-credit] 

    #2. When it comes to drama, Kevin Harvick is where it is at!  Don’t get me wrong….I am a proud firesuit- T-shirt wearing fan who loves the Harvicks!  However, I was surprised to find $236,000 in penalties for all that drama.

    This weekend, Harvick landed a punch on Kyle Busch through an open window net. This netted Harvick with a $25,000 fine and a four-race probation.

    Kevin has on-track altercations involving Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Gregg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Burton.

    In Kevin’s defense…not all of the $236,000 were fines from altercations.  Harvick’s team had issues with aerodynamics, oil and fuel filters, rear suspension and a few other miscellaneous penalties to the tune of $156,000.

    [media-credit name=”FMCM” align=”alignleft” width=”120″][/media-credit] 

    #1. Yes, you read that correctly!  Robby Gordon takes the cake with an whopping $325,000 in NASCAR penalties.

    This driver/owner has been fined for just about everything thanks to his never-ending supply of crew chiefs.  Most notably, $150,000 for an unapproved front bumper while under the direction of Frank Kerr.

    Robby Gordon remains on probation after an altercation in Las Vegas with Kevin Conway regarding money and pending litigation.

    FAQ:

    What data was used for this article? We used the Jayski penalties posted from 2001-May 10,2011.  All data is assumed under the umbrella of each driver. Article assumes readers will know a driver name, but not a crew member name.

    Example…..If the stated driver’s crew chief was fined $50,000 for unapproved modifications..then that driver’s penalties will reflect that amount.

    Where did we get the data?  http://jayski.com/pages/penalties.htm

    What happens to the money from the penalties? Starting in 2008, all money collected from fines issued to drivers go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives; before, the money collected from driver/crew member penalties are generally placed into the Drivers Points Fund awarded at the end of the season.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards led 57 laps at Darlington, and seemed well on his way to victory when an untimely caution with 10 laps to go altered the course of the race. Edwards and most of the front-runners pitted for tires, while Regan Smith stayed out and took the lead. Smith withstood Edwards’ charges and held on for his first career Sprint Cup win.

    “It would have been great to honor the birth of my son with a win,” Edwards said. “As it was, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were the ones paying homage to infantile behavior. I really thought we made the right decision to pit, but Smith wouldn’t let me by. He won the battle; Busch and Harvick started a war.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch was battling with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer for sixth on lap 363 when contact between the three sent Bowyer spinning. After Harvick bumped Busch’s No. 18 Doublemint Toyota from behind, Busch retaliated by spinning the No. 29 Budweiser Chevy. And incensed Harvick later tried to punch Busch, but Busch simply drove away, sending Harvick’s parked car into the pit road wall. Busch finished 11th, and met with NASCAR officials, along with Harvick, Richard Childress, and Joe Gibbs after the race.

    “Maybe now,” Busch said, “Harvick will have a new appreciation for the ‘drive-through window.’ I was just sitting in my car minding my own business, when Harvick appears out of nowhere. I refuse to sit ‘idly’ by and give him a free shot at my head. I’m not afraid on him; I just simply drove off the ‘beaten’ path.

    “Despite fines and penalties from NASCAR, I stand by my actions. In regards to punishment, I listened to what NASCAR had to say. But like any driver worth his salt, I didn’t ‘hear’ it. Some have ‘selective hearing;’ I have ‘disciplinary hearing.’”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson survived an early spin courtesy of Juan Montoya, making a spectacular save to keep the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet off the wall. Johnson recovered, and overcame a subsequent spin due to loose handling on lap 220, and was primed for a top-10 finish. But a loose lug nut 10 laps from the end forced him to the tail end of the longest line, and he finished 15th. Johnson remains second in the point standings, 23 out of first.

    “It’s on!” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, I’m referring to the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick feud, and not the lug nut in question.

    “I’m embroiled in a feud of my own, with Montoya. Of course, JPM apologized for spinning me. Now, I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him. Frankly, as a five-time Cup champion, I’m about sick of making ‘acceptance’ speeches.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 17th at Darlington after Kyle Busch sent him spinning on lap 363 in retaliation for what Busch called “unacceptable racing” on Harvick’s part. Afterward, Harvick insinuated that his business with Busch is far from done. Harvick is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 50 behind Carl Edwards.

    “It’s far from over,” Harvick said. “I know that, Busch knows that, and NASCAR knows that. Even my sponsor, Budweiser, knows that. Hence, the presence of a special Budweiser slogan on my car for upcoming races that says, ‘This Bud’s Coming For You.’

    “Kyle’s mother must be proud. In Mrs. Busch’s honor, I’d like to extend Happy Mother’s Day wishes to her via Kyle when I say ‘Your momma.’ But let’s not let our feud take away from Regan Smith’s victory. It was truly a magical night at Darlington. Even I tried a little magic of my own when, much like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, I tried to pull a ‘chicken’ out of the No. 18 car. Even Kyle got in on the fun with his little ‘disappearing act.’”

    5. Ryan Newman: Newman posted his fourth top-5 finish of the year with a fifth in the Showtime Southern 500. He led 28 laps, and improved two places in the point standings to sixth, 61 out of first.

    “You may have heard,” Newman said, “that I threw a punch at Juan Montoya during our meeting with NASCAR officials to discuss our budding feud. I gave reconciliation a chance. Apparently, there’s just no getting through to Montoya. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.’ So I did.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th at Darlington, victimized by a penalty for hitting the pit road entrance cone on a lap 329 stop. He remained fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 47 out of first.

    “It was a crazy week at the track,” Earnhardt said. “Even inanimate objects weren’t safe from being hit. Surprisingly, orange safety cones are a lot like certain drivers, in that safety cones don’t fight back, either.”

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart took a gamble at Darlington, staying out while most of the leaders pitted after Jeff Burton’s blown engine brought out the caution on lap 359. It paid off, as Stewart gained substantial track position, and scored his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a seventh. He jumped three places in the point standings to seventh, 65 out of first.

    “From what I hear,” Stewart said, “even a meeting with NASCAR did nothing to settle the Ryan Newman-Juan Montoya feud. And that’s no surprise. Both Ryan and Juan are very headstrong, so it’s shocking to see that neither was willing to show ‘resolve.’

    “Montoya was unwilling to take any responsibility for wrecking Ryan at Richmond. Are we supposed to believe that his spin of Ryan was simply an accident? I think Ryan has resigned himself to accepting that claim, no matter how implausible it seems. That’s why he’s taking no responsibility for punching Montoya. That’s called the ‘Oops! Upside Your Head’ defense.”

    8. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer saw a possible top-5 finish disintegrate when he spun into the inside wall after Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Bowyer battled door to door on lap 363. Bowyer’s No. 31 BB&T Chevy was done for the day, and he finished 31st.

    “I knew I was in trouble when Busch, Harvick, and myself came out of the corner side-by-side-by-side. That kind of lateral racing can lead to only one thing: collateral damage. And that was me.

    “Of course, as we already know, Harvick won’t take Busch’s actions sitting down. Kevin’s reputation is that of someone who never backs down. Everyone expects Kevin to retaliate, and I’m sure he’ll be ‘Happy’ to oblige.”

    9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth blew a tire early at Darlington and fell three laps down and was never able to catch a break to regain track position. When his night at Darlington was done, Kenseth posted a finish of 25th, his third result outside the top 20 since winning at Texas on April 9th. He dropped one place in the point standings to tenth, 83 out of first.

    “I was an early victim of the ‘Lady In Black,’” Kenseth said. “It’s possibly the first time in my life I’ve been chosen first by a woman.

    “As for the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick, it appears NASCAR was somewhat lenient with punishment. But that’s not surprising. Of course, NASCAR’s backed themselves into a corner by advocating the ‘Boys, have at it’ mentality, which, as history shows, is inevitably translated by drivers into the ‘Boys, have a tit-for-tat’ mentality.”

    10. Kasey Kahne: Kahne started on the pole at Darlington and led 124 of 370 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish, his second consecutive top-5 result after last week’s third at Richmond.

    “I’m riding a wave of momentum right now,” Kahne said. “But I won’t get complacent. In this sport, momentum is like a one-year contract—very fleeting. I have to hand it to Red Bull for signing me to a one-year contract with the knowledge that at year’s end, I’ll say ‘Bull split’ and head over to Hendrick. Mighty Kasey doesn’t strike out; he strikes deals.”

  • Richmond – A Camoflage Affair

    Richmond – A Camoflage Affair

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It was a short track. It was a night race. So this race should have been an incredible journey back to the old school racing that made NASCAR a household word. But from the beginning of the week end it was obvious that something was missing. The first races of the weekend might have been the problem. Did they set the pace.

    The K&N East series race lacked luster and excitement. It was to be blunt, dull.  It was a close race at the front between Darrell Wallace Jr and Max Gresham. Wallace, from Mobile, Ala., gained his third victory in just his 13th career start in the K&N Pro Series East. He took the lead from Gresham for the first time on Lap 55, and the two later swapped it following a restart on Lap 78, and for the decisive time on Lap 79.

    “We just had to be patient, and be there at about halfway,” Wallace said. “[Max] Gresham was pretty strong, and I think we just a little bit better car and a better line, and we just took it away from him.”

    Next on the schedule was the Denny Hamlin Late Model charity race. A thunder storm that moved through the area kept the crowd to a minimum but Denny Hamlin finally won his own charity race.

    Although he was scheduled to start on the pole for the race, he choose to start from the back. Hamlin moved his way through the pack avoiding accidents along the way to join team mate Kyle Busch at the front of the field. The final restart came when Max Gresham and Darryl Wallace Jr tangled causing the final caution.

    Busch took the lead at the green but ran out of gas on the back stretch allowing Hamlin and Michael Waltrip to take over the point. “I’m glad he ran out of fuel because it might have got ugly,” Hamlin said. “Trust me; if Kyle wouldn’t have run out of gas, I would have done everything possible to get around him.”

    Hamlin, who said last week that the race raised over $100,000 last year, said he will wait to see how much money was raised this year, then give 10 percent to help tornado victims. Where that money will go specifically will be determined by where there is the most need, he said.

    His usual charities — the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Richmond — will receive the other 90 percent of money raised.

    Friday would bring the Nationwide Series to the spotlight with Carl Edwards starting the Fastenal Ford Fusion from the pole of the Bubba Burger 250. The race would have strange turns of events throughout its course.

    The most prominent of those oddities was the lack of cautions. Only 2 yellow flags waved for the entire race. The long green flag runs made for a decisively boring race that saw Denny Hamlin lead for 199 of the 251 laps.

    The second was a penalty assessed by NASCAR to pole sitter Carl Edwards. Edwards who ran out of gas and had to push started was penalized for working on the car outside the pit box even though the rule clearly gives him 3 boxes to be pushed by crew to restart the car. The penalty put the pole sitter 5 laps down and for the most part eliminated him from competition.

    NASCAR would announce on Saturday that they had made an error with the penalty and in fact Edwards and his Jack Roush crew were in the right. No change was made to the finishing order.

    The third oddity came when Aric Almirola’s Hellmann’s Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the back stretch. Almirola who asked for team mate Josh Wish to give him a push, instead found help from former Jr. Motorsports driver, Brad Keselowski. Keselowski pushed the car to the opening of the pit road and then took a run with a hard push to propel the 88 down the pit road before resuming his position on the track.

    Almirola who was not under power at that time was deemed to be speeding on pit road. His crew who worked quickly to refuel and change tires got the car to refire almost immediately.

    As Almirola left the pit road it was deemed that he was speeding off pit road as well. To further add confusion to the issue, television commentators stated the speeding was to avoid going a lap down and a penalty would be assessed. With in seconds Almirola began to back up in the line up to the last position on the lead lap as is customary for speeding under caution. The final position was 7th. Almirola came across the line in 5th position on the checkered flag which waved with the caution flag.

    The 88 was originally credited by NASCAR timing and scoring as finishing in the 5th spot. Shortly after the conclusion of the race Almirola was relegated first to the 6th position and then finally to the 14th spot one lap down. NASCAR put him one lap down due to the speeding penalty and said he should have started at the end of the one lap down cars.

    Almirola who was obviously upset, stated, “They are going to have to explain this one to me. I went from 5th to 14th after the race.” Almirola and Crew Chief Tony Eury Sr spent time in the NNS hauler discussing the issue.

    In defense of Almirola, he was scored first 5th then 6th then 14th. He was not alone in his finishing position being changed after the race several drivers’ positions changed and the final finishing order was not available until after 1 AM CST. At that point Nascar.com still listed Aric Almirola and the 88 in 5th position. The next morning the line up had been changed yet again.

    The final oddity occurred when Danica Patrick was shown as the driver for the 7 car out of the JR Motorsports stable. The NASCAR 2011 game sponsored car was driven by Josh Wise and finished 6th. Speeds “unofficial results” show Patrick as finishing 3rd in the 7 car. The 7 car however, was never in the 3rd position on the race track.

    The Sprint Cup race would be frustrating to say the least. Long green runs were followed by yellows every 10 laps and then a long green flag run to the checkers. The viewers at home and the fans in the stands seemed to be the only people wondering about the outcome, the announcers for Fox seemed to know who the winner would be from the beginning of the race. Constant proclamations of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin would indeed prove to be the case as the Gibbs team finished 1st and 2nd.

    The race was full of action typically seen on a short track. Tempers flared between Juan Montoya and Ryan Newman with Newman going to the hauler to see “what they intended to do with the 42.” Montoya exited the track on a golf cart immediately following the race with no comments given to the press.

    Jeff Gordon who undoubtedly had one of the strongest cars in the field was wrecked in a multiple car pile up on the front stretch and hit hard with the driver’s side door on the only accessible wall that did not have a safer barrier. Gordon was slow to exit the car, but said later on Twitter that he was fine, but would be sore for a couple of days.

    The usually strong Budweiser Chevy faded late in the race to finish a lap down, a performance very uncharacteristic of Kevin Harvick. He was not the only car to struggle uncharacteristically. Jimmie Johnson rallied late to finish 9th but struggled the entire race. As did Dale Earnhardt Jr who had to stop late in the race for fuel and was thus relegated to a 19th place finish 2 laps down.

    The fact that a short track race became a fuel mileage situation was frustrating. Fuel mileage races are for the most part a boring affair. This was no different. Although it had all the short track action, it was just an ok race. It left this writer scratching her head.

    What happened? Why did this race go from being a promise of exciting old school racing to a snoozer? All the pieces were there. Yet the most excitement came from the radio communication of drivers like Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr, and Ryan Newman. If you were not able to partake in the scanner communications the race was well drab.

    This race truly was a camouflage affair. It had all the promise of the hunt and yet at the end it fell short of its promise. It was not the track itself. It was not the cars or even the drivers’ performances. It was that one missing link. It was the missing something that kept the race from being good that made it just ok.

    Richmond was full of the high strung antics of the thoroughbreds that make up the Sprint Cup roster. The angry words, the angry antics, the promise of long memories, drivers who were angry at cars, engineers, teams, pit stops and well just themselves; for all of the hype Richmond fell short of being a good show. That perhaps was the biggest surprise of all.

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

    Congratulations to Darrell Wallace Jr on his K&N East series win. He showed the grace and class in victory lane that one must possess to be a champion of the sport. I look forward to watching him grow within the sport. Congratulations to Denny Hamlin on his Nationwide Series win. He put on a dominating performance. Congratulations to Kyle Busch on his Sprint Cup win. Happy Birthday Kyle and may you have many returns on the day. Kudos to the Lowes Race team on never giving up, the perseverance of champions was never more evident than it was in Richmond on Saturday night. You proved how you became 5 time champions and why you are challengers for the 6 pack.

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards paired up with Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle late at Talladega, and led with two laps to go before finishing sixth following a chaotic shuffling on the final lap. Edwards maintained the lead in the Sprint Cup point standings, and leads Jimmie Johnson by five. 

     “With five laps to go,” Edwards said, “there were eight drivers with a chance to win the race. Eight, if you count Dave Blaney. I found it interesting that I started the race beside Brad Keselowski and finished it beside the concrete wall. That’s called running a race between a hard head and a hard place.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Benefitting from a race-winning push from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Johnson won the Aaron’s, nipping Clint Bowyer by .002 in a stirring finish at Talladega. Johnson’s first win of the year moved him up to second in the Sprint Cup point standings, where he trails Carl Edwards by only five.

     “Obviously,” Johnson said, “I couldn’t have done it without Earnhardt’s help. They say Earnhardt is NASCAR’s most popular driver. He just became Jimmie Johnson’s most popular driver as well. I guess this is what happens when ‘push comes to love.’

    “I’m just glad I was able to lead the Hendrick charge. There may only be room for one driver on my bumper, but there’s room for three on my coattails.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished fourth in the Aaron’s 499, sacrificing a chance for the win to push teammate Jimmie Johnson to a dramatic victory. In the tandem racing prevalent at Talladega, Johnson was faster in front with Earnhardt pushing. After the race, a grateful Johnson presented Earnhardt with the checkered flag.

    “I can’t thank Jimmie enough for the flag,” Earnhardt said. “Actually, I think once is enough. I’m honored, but not winning at the track at which I’m most capable of winning is something I’d like to put behind me. Thus, the flag becomes my ‘checkered past.’

    “You’ve got to hand it to Jimmie, though. He’s a very shrewd racer. It was quite clever of him to say he was slower in the back. Of course he’s slower; he’s behind me. But I bought it, and now I have to live with it. I guess I’ll now be categorized as the ‘consummate’ teammate. ‘Consummate’ would be the operative word, because I believe I got screwed.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick nearly pushed Richard Childress teammate Clint Bowyer to the win at Talladega, as Bowyer lost to Jimmie Johnson by .002 in a photo finish at the line. Harvick finished fourth, collecting his fourth top-5 result of the year, and leaped five places in the point standings to fourth.

    “One day I’m stocking grocery stores with Budweiser,” Harvick said. “The next, I’m thriving in the role of dedicated teammate, and using the No. 29 Budweiser Chevy to push Clint Bowyer to a near-win at Talladega. In both cases, you could say I ‘shelved’ Budweiser for the sake of others.”

    5. Kyle Busch: Busch saw his Talladega hopes dashed when Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano nudged Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Pretzel Toyota on lap 140, sending Busch into Matt Kenseth’s No. 17. Busch finished 35th, and tumbled four spots in the Sprint Cup point standings to sixth, 38 out of first.

    “In a restrictor plate race,” Busch said, “sometimes you have to learn to accept your ‘restrictor fate.’ C’est la re(strictor). Joe Gibbs Racing cars have had their engine issues this year, but at Talladega, it was Logano who was the culprit. Either way, you could say it was still Toyota’s fault.”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer led the most laps at Talladega, 38, but came up just short at the end, losing to Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Chevy by .002, which tied Ricky Craven’s 2003 win at Darlington for the narrowest margin of victory since the age of electronic timing. Bowyer improved two places in the point standings to tenth, 50 out of first.

    “It was an exciting end to an otherwise boring race,” Bowyer said. “I think we gave the fans what they wanted. Although I didn’t win, I was the pleased the No. 33 BB&T Chevy could add a little ‘interest’ to the race.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth’s run of four-straight top-10 finishes ended at Talladega, when he was collected in a lap 139 wreck that sent him to the garage. Kenseth’s No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford was nailed by Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota after Busch was clipped by Joey Logano. Kenseth finished 36th, and fell four places in the point standings to eighth.

    “Wrecks at Talladega are a lot like what Kyle Busch must experience with his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Kenseth said. “There’s no way to avoid them. And speaking of ‘unavoidable  wrecks,’ my brother Kurt had quite the day at Talladega. The ‘Duke Of Hazard’ invented a new style of racing called ‘constrictor plate,’ because afterwards, everyone wanted to choke him.

     “Now, lost in all of the Talladega hoopla was the story that NASCAR chairman Brian France filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife, claiming she recorded phone conversations without his consent in order to extort money from him. That’s amazing! Amazing that she thought someone would actually want to hear what Brian France has to say.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch led 19 laps in the Aaron’s 499, but faded at the finish after losing Dave Blaney’s No. 36 car in the draft. Busch finished 18th, and remained fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and now trails Carl Edwards by 28.

    “I started the day fifth in the point standings,” Busch said, “and ended the day in the same place. I guess the point standings are the only thing I could say I didn’t put a dent in. 

    “Unfortunately, I was in the middle of three major wrecks. But don’t blame me—I couldn’t see what was ahead of me. Apparently, my fans are much better at one thing that I, and that’s ‘blindly following.’”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 25th in the Aaron’s 499, a result that could have been much worse had Newman not made two miraculous saves to stay in the race. On lap 171, Newman momentarily lost the draft with Denny Hamlin, but when their bumpers reconnected, Newman spun, collecting Juan Montoya’s No. 42. Newman miraculously straightened his car and kept going. Two laps later, he spun again, and kept the car out of danger. After pitting for four tires and fender repairs, he resumed in 27th. He eventually finished 25th, and remained seventh in the point standings.

    “I even amazed myself,” Newman said. “Only one other thing has made me grip a steering wheel so tightly. That would be Rusty Wallace.”      

    10. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started on the pole at Talladega, and after riding safely at the back of the pack for most of the race, charged at the end with a continual push from his drafting partner Mark Martin. In the thrilling dash to the line, Gordon finished third behind Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer.

    “You could say Jimmie Johnson ‘came out of nowhere’ for the win,” Gordon said. “But it seems implausible that a five-time Sprint Cup champion could ‘come out of nowhere.’ Let’s just say he ‘came out of somewhere’ and ‘pulled it out of someplace.”

  • Talladega’s Spring Homecoming

    Talladega’s Spring Homecoming

    Even a Tornado didn’t phase Talladega. She stood through the wind and the rain with her ever foreboding presence. She set the example for those that would compete on her legendary high banks over the next two days; the howling wind seemed to echo the secret of success here, as it blew down her straight a ways. Never give up. No Hesitation. No Fear.

    [media-credit name=”(c) CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Although Friday night saw the drivers coach area evacuated to storm shelters at the track, Saturday morning brought Alabama Blue Skies and a day full of racing. The ARCA race would find a long time favorite coming oh so close to victory and losing it by a nose to ARCA rookie Ty Dillion, but Frank Kimmel showed the dominance on the day until the final 1000 yards.

    The Cup qualifying would show historical milestone achieved with 1 through 4 starting positions for Hendrick Motorsports. It was only the third time in history that a single team would lock up the top spots to start a race. Owner Pete DePaolo’s cars started 1-5 at Concord, N.C., in 1956; cars owned by Jack Roush claimed the top four spots on the grid at Fontana in 2005, and now  Talladega in 2011 with HMS.

    Pole sitter Jeff Gordon stated that qualifying was a “snoozer” and that he could have walked faster than he qualified. The field would not break 180 mph in qualifying at NASCAR’s fastest track.

    The Nationwide Series race would go off as scheduled on Saturday afternoon. It would be nothing more than a long drawn out wreck fest that would see an unlikely winner in Kyle Busch. Busch’s car which had been severely damaged in a lap 88 on track altercation had very little right rear quarter panel left on it and it was battered at both ends. The car in victory lane looked more like it had survived a short track race than won a super speedway race.

    Second place Joey Logano, stated after the race, “I don’t know why we even go to the wind tunnel when we end up with cars that look like this.” Third place Joe Nemecheck laughed and said, “I haven’t been to the wind tunnel in 3 years.”

    The race saw some very surprising finishers with Nemecheck and Mike Wallace leading for a short while at the end of the race. Wallace would end up on his roof and landing on all four wheels at the last “green -white -checkered” finish. Wallace said he wasn’t going to quit so he re-fired the car and drove around to an 18th place lead lap finish.

    Wallace’s roll over would bring out the final caution on the white flag lap allowing Kyle Busch to win the race at the timing line just past the accident. Busch was leading at the time of the caution and the field by NASCAR rules is frozen by the yellow.

    The race was a display of the two car draft and what can happen within it. The race was stopped twice for red flags and major accidents. Including the big one which saw 21 cars involved on lap 88.

    The race on Sunday was more of the same with less wrecks. It’s finish was exciting and dynamic with Jimmie Johnson taking the lead half way through the tri -oval with a push from team mate Dale Earnhardt Jr. The finish which was the closest in NASCAR history saw the 48 beat Clint Bowyer by .002 seconds. The 4 pairs of cars wide finish was one of the most exciting in the history of the sport without exception.

    Johnson who said he didn’t lift after the start finish line because he didn’t know whether it was the checkered flag lap or not found out he won when team mate Dale Jr came over the radio and said, “Damn I think the 48 won it.”  Johnson who gave the checkered flag of the race to team mate Dale Jr whom he worked with all day as a tandem, said Dale didn’t want to take the flag but did so reluctantly on pit road. “We definitely wouldn’t have won the race without Dale.”

    Clint Bowyer finished second in the BB&T Chevrolet said, “We did everything we could do. The BB&T Chevrolet, she did everything she could do.” When asked if it was good to be second in the closest finish in NASCAR history Bowyer replied, “Hell, no, that sucks (laughing). It’s never very good to know you made NASCAR history by losing. Sooner or later I need to start making history by winning. (JJ’s) won enough (more laughing).”

    Jeff Gordon who finished third stated, “The race is really only about 25 laps long. You spend the rest of the day setting up the finish.” Gordon who ran in the back with team mate Mark Martin for most of the day made his charge to the front with 22 laps to go and was leading on the back stretch of the final lap. He was passed by the tandem of Bowyer and Harvick out of three with Carl Edwards/Greg Biffle coming quickly on the outside setting up the dramatic finish at the line.

    The race was not without it’s controversy. This one started and encouraged and in fact fueled by a member of the press. It would seem that it was felt by some that Jimmie Johnson passed Mark Martin below the yellow line in the process of taking the lead. Photo’s from AP photographer, Butch Dill, show the 48 and the 88 with left side tires on the yellow line. Neither car is below the double yellow line but both are on the double yellow line.

    In post race media conference Johnson was asked about the situation, He said he was not even aware that they were that close to the yellow line and that he had been told before entering the media center about it. He stated that he had asked NASCAR and been told, “we were clear.”  NASCAR Vice President Steve Odonnell stated on Twitter, “Great finish, we don’t see any evidence of 48 gaining a position below yellow, Car needs to be below and tires are not even below, this is not close.”

    Interestingly enough the controversy was spurred not by a fellow competitor but by a member of the media. It is interesting that in the unbiased can not applaud or shake hands with a winner world of “professional” journalism that one individual would go to such great lengths to try to discredit the win of a 5 time champion. This rule has been debated ad nauseum since it’s inception. We have seen it’s bad side. We have seen it’s good side. Not once has NASCAR ever hesitated to call the yellow line rule. Not for anyone. So it seems strange that they would be questioned to the extent of searching out photo’s to prove the reporter right.

    The real story of Talladega had nothing to do with the finish but in truth the other 350 laps of Surrey racing with cars. Drivers from Jeff Gordon to Dale Jr and Kevin Harvick all expressed their dislike for the new two car draft. Dale Earnhardt Jr went so far as to call it, “crap” . In post race Jimmie Johnson said, “It was fun. But if I had been in a wreck I would probably be bitching and moaning about it.”

    The truth is honestly how safe is it to drive 180 mph with 42 other cars while driving blind folded? That is essentially what these guys were doing. You can not legally text and drive due to the dangers of accidents while you do it. But these drivers are trying to change radio channels and talk to different drivers and spotters and drive blind half the time.

    When you add in to the mix the instability of the race cars themselves when being pushed down the straightaways and tri ovals you have a disaster waiting to happen.

    Constantly we will hear about the 88 lead changes and the closest finish in history, but in truth those statements and results are skewed. There were 88 lead changes between two car tandems so realistically you must actually divide that number by two.

    The closest finish in history was very exciting yes. But the finish doesn’t make for a good race in it’s entirety. Frankly, it was a snoozer to borrow Jeff Gordon’s word for the first 320 laps. Cars were strung out in 2 car pairs. And most passing was as the cars switched positions and went backwards because of the lift factor to allow the pass. The pass has to be made to avoid blowing an engine up due to over heating because of the NASCAR grill mandates.

    Then lets add the smaller restrictor plate. Frankly, Big Bill built Talladega to be the fastest track in the world. This weekend he would have been looking for a fix because the laps turned at Texas, where the pole speed was 189.820 mph, were in a lot of cases faster than the laps turned at Talladega, The world center of speed, where Jeff Gordon’s pole speed was 178.248 mph.

    When we add all these things together, the common denominator is NASCAR. Again it appears that there are attempts to manipulate the competition and then tell us this is better. “You must not be a race fan if that finish didn’t excite you.” The finish did excite me. It was the rest of the race that was the problem.

    “How can you not like 43 cars changing positions at 180 mph?” I do like to see cars making passes for position at 180 mph. But these passes are meaningless passes of survival.

    Fox TV called it one of the most exciting races in NASCAR history. Really? For the last 22 laps it was pretty good. But it wasn’t as good as Richmond in 1991 when DW and Rusty Wallace raced side by side for the last 32 laps without ever touching one another. That was exciting. It wasn’t the 1998 Daytona 500 when the Intimidator finally won the big one. It wasn’t even as exciting as Bristol in 1991 when Rusty Wallace came from 4 laps down to win from the pole. Yes 4 laps down and there was no lucky dog. That was racing. That was exciting. This is surrey racing with cars. This is a winner who by himself would finish last.

    Dale Jarrett said it best, “You can’t really race you have to have a dancing partner.” But this is not prom. These are not young men on shaky knees asking a pretty young girl to dance. These are 43 of the greatest stock car drivers in the world. And they need to be able to see where they are going. NASCAR would never let a blind man race. But they blind good men and ask them to dance in pairs at high speed. This is not racing. This is manipulation and a poor solution to ratings, empty seats and a kit car that the more changes they make to it the worse it becomes. NASCAR can measure a chassis that is off as close to half the thickness of a quarter, but they can’t seem to see where the real problem is. I guess there is truth to the cliché of the blind leading the blind. The problem is the teams, drivers, engineers and fans are not all blind.

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

    Congratulations to Ty Dillion on his first career ARCA win. Congratulations to the pairing of  Kyle Busch/Joey Logano of JGR on their NNS win. Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson/Dale Earnhardt Jr on their Sprint Cup Victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Also congratulations to HMS team on making history with their 1 – 4 starting positions for the race. Especially congratulations to the Spotters on the roof who guided two car teams to the best of their ability without being able to remotely control the cars. You may not be driving them, but you did an awesome job of guiding them.

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards took third at Texas, passing Tony Stewart’s gassed out car on the final lap, as Roush Fenway Racing placed all four cars in the top 7. Edwards battled stomach problems all day, as well as handling issues in the No. 99 Scott’s Ford, but hung in to post his fourth top-5 result of the year. He vaulted passed Kyle Busch in the point standings, and holds a nine point lead.

    “We were loose all day,” Edwards said. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean the car and me. It’s hard to find a rhythm when you’re constantly telling your car to ‘go’ and only your stomach is listening. It was a day of ‘fits and sharts.’ My teammate David Ragan may drive the UPS car, but it was me who truly found out what brown could do for me. The answer was very little.

    “As you may know, I’m in the last year of my contract, and I’m currently in talks with Roush Fenway concerning a contract extension. I’m pretty confident we’ll get it done, especially after Saturday night’s performance, because I seriously doubt anyone else would want my ‘seat’ after that.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch was running third and primed to contend for the win at Texas, but a left-rear tire vibration forced a late pit stop, putting the No. 18 Interstate Battery Toyota a lap down. Busch never got a caution to get back on the lead lap, and settled for a disappointing 16th, which knocked him from the Sprint Cup points lead. He trails Carl Edwards by nine points.

    “Given the circumstances,” Busch said, “I’d rather not be behind Edwards at this point. As it stands, though, Carl’s the only driver in front of me, and that makes him the public enemy No. 1. Ironically, public enemy No. 1 faced a devious nemesis at Texas, ‘public enemy No. 2.’    

     “Joe Gibbs Racing is still experiencing engine problems. Luckily, we’ve identified the issues—they’re apparently called ‘Denny Hamlin’ and ‘Logano.’ I think those two have answered the age-old question: ‘What happens when a driver and car run out of talent at the same time?’ 

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth ended a 76-race winless streak with an assertive victory in the Samsung Mobil 500 at Texas, leading 169 of 334 laps and winning by over eight seconds over Clint Bowyer. Kenseth donned the ceremonial ten-gallon hat and six shooters afforded the Texas winner in victory lane, celebrating his first win since California in 2009. He leapt six places in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 13 behind Carl Edward and four behind Kyle Busch.

    “Surprise!” Kenseth said. “It’s Matt Kenseth with the ‘hat trick,’ and not Kevin Harvick. And it’s not just Carl Edwards ‘shooting blanks;’ it’s me as well.

    “I’ve always ran well at Texas, and I knew we were capable of winning here. I just had to go out and do it. Much in the same way that Edwards did, I told myself, ‘I’ve got to go.’ Luckily for me, and for Carl, I did, and he didn’t.”

    4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson battled loose-handling conditions for the majority of Texas’ 334 laps on Saturday night, but still managed a solid eighth-place finish. Johnson dropped one spot in the point standings, and now trails Carl Edwards by 13 points.

    “We’ve gone seven races this season without a win,” Johnson said. “I could be a whiner and blame everybody, which would be a case of a ‘critical ass’ calling out the ‘critical mass.’ But I’ve learned that criticism is a useless endeavor—it can only lead to forced, insincere apologies to NASCAR.

    “But it is much too early in the season to be worrying about my deficiencies. I should know that better than anyone. I’ve made a habit of spending the first 26 races showing I’m mortal, and the last ten proving I’m immortal. I’ve spent five years perfecting the art, and it’s a cause I’m proud to champion.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s effort to win his third-straight race was derailed early after a right-side tire violation penalty on his first pit stop. With track position compromised, he eventually fell two laps down and never returned to the lead lap, finishing 20th. He tumbled four places to ninth in the point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 28.

    “Unfortunately,” Harvick said, “I won’t be saying ‘three in a row.’ They say good things come in three’s, except for four-tire pit stops.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his second-straight top-10 finish, and fourth of the season, with a ninth in the Samsung Mobil 500. He moved up two places in the point standings to sixth, and trails Carl Edwards by 21.

    “It’s now been 100 races since my last win,” Earnhardt said. “That’s a dry spell any member of Junior Nation could be proud of. But that’s a long time to go without a win. Now, when I see a ‘three-finger salute,’ I’ll know it means ‘three digits.’ Of course, that’s opposed to the normal ‘three-finger salute,’ in which three of my fans stand in unison and flip the bird to the driver that just passed me on the track.

    “Now, that 100-race winless streak could very well come to an end at Talladega. I hear two-car tandems again will be the norm as they were at Daytona, and the multi-car draft seems to be a thing of the past. So, Sunday’s race will be a lot like a typical weekend in the Talladega infield, with multiple hookups with 10-15 partners, and the occasional threesome, with feelings of regret when it’s over.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch led five times for 50 laps at Texas, but found himself in an off-sequence pit situation without a much-needed caution. Forced to pit late while running second, Busch settled for a 10th, and fell one spot in the point standings to fifth, 16 out of first.

    “We qualified 10th and finished 10th,” Busch said. “That’s what I call ‘running in place.’ And speaking of ‘running in place,’ the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team could use a ‘jog,’ preferably to the noggin, to rouse us from the doldrums of mediocrity. I’ve told my team the same thing I‘ve told my cosmetic surgeon: ‘You can do better than this.’”

    8. Ryan Newman: Newman faced an uphill battle on Saturday night at Texas, as the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevy lacked the necessary handling and speed to be a factor in the Samsung Mobil 500. Newman salvaged a 14th-place result, scrapping until the end. He dropped one place in the point standings to seventh, 23 out of first.

    “It was a tough day for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said. “I struggled all day, and Tony Stewart ruined a potential race-winning fuel strategy by speeding in the pits on his final stop. So, I was ‘sorry,’ and Tony apologized. I’m sure Tony had a horrible feeling in his gut after that huge mistake. It seems that, much like Carl Edwards, Tony was suffering from his own case of ‘botch-ulism.’” 

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer’s runner-up finish at Texas gave him three consecutive top-10’s after an early season of struggles, and solidified much-needed momentum for the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team. Bowyer nearly wrecked while leading when contact with Brian Vickers sent him spinning, but a miraculous save kept him in the running.

    “My sympathies go out to Carl Edwards,” Bowyer said. “I can certainly relate to the ordeal he experienced on Saturday, because I nearly crapped my pants too. If not for our abilities to avoid catastrophe, we both could have had a mess on our hands.”

    10. Tony Stewart: Stewart’s shot at a Texas victory ended when a late pit road speeding penalty ruined what appeared to be a winning fuel strategy by the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team. Stewart ran out of fuel on the final lap while running third, and finished 12th. 

    “In times like these,” Stewart said, “I must choose my words wisely. Criticizing NASCAR’s pit road speed monitoring system so soon after being penalized would be a case of bad timing. And explaining the use of sarcasm and puns right now would be a case of good timing. And you know me. If you believe overly embellished Rolling Stone accounts of my life as a playboy and hard partier, then I certainly know everything possible about ‘good time-ing.’”

  • Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Championship Contender?

    Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Championship Contender?

    If you look at the results and where Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits in points, the obvious answer to this question would be yes. Following a second place finish two weeks ago at Martinsville and a ninth place finish at Texas, more fans believe this to be the obvious answer.

    [media-credit id=1 align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Though listening to what Earnhardt has to say about the No. 88 team proves this theory otherwise.

    “I ain’t really proved it to myself yet,” he told SBNation.com after the Martinsville race.

    “I’ll let you know when I feel like I’m back, personally. Anyone that watched that race today knows that we weren’t a second‑place race car or even a third‑place race car all day. We never were up there to prove that point. So there’s no argument: We got some work to do still.

    “We are faster, we are more competitive than last year. But we still got a little ways to go.”

    The No. 88 team put themselves in contention through fuel strategy at Martinsville, though the driver wasn’t able to capitalize on it.

    With 20 to go, he took the lead from Kyle Busch with a bump-and-run, though lost the lead with four to go to the hands of Kevin Harvick, as the handling went away on the No. 88 Chevy.

    “I was just doing the best could I do with the car and trying to make the best out of the situation,” he said. “We had an opportunity to win the race. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the job done and it will probably bother me more and more as the night goes on. I’ll probably think about it a million times what I probably could have done differently.”

    Though beyond these two races, has he proved that he is championship worthy?

    He haven’t qualified the greatest most of the year. He got the pole for the Daytona 500, though his highest qualifying effort since then was 22nd at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “The biggest problem we had was qualifying poorly, trying to overcome that all day,” Earnhardt said in the post-race report following Phoenix where he started 35th.

    “We had a good enough car with them guys and kind of proved it in a couple of instances. But, you have to get by them. You get stuck behind them, and it’s hard to really show how good the car is. Every time we passed somebody, we just left them.”

    “I’ve got to do a better job helping them put a car on the track for qualifying that’s going to get us in the top 15 for qualifying,” he said following Fontana.

    “You’re really not helping yourself starting races in 30th. We have really good race cars and don’t want to be doing that.”

    If he is going to begin to get himself back in contention, qualifying well is definitely going to be a good start.

    Despite the poor qualifying efforts, though, he has managed to finish in the top 12 every week, including two top 10s at Phoenix and Las Vegas.

    At Phoenix, he worked his way through the field after starting 35th, played some fuel strategy to get himself in contention for a top 10 and finished 10th on the money.

    A week later at Las Vegas, he worked his way through the field throughout the day to finish eighth. Part of this steams back to the relationship that Earnhardt is developing with Steve LeTarte.

    “I just kept describing what I was feeling and what I thought I needed and Steve was really hitting right on it every time.” Earnhardt said following Las Vegas.

    “I think that’s what he’s great at and that’s what he’s doing right now,” Earnhardt shared during his Bristol media availability on LeTarte helping him.

    “He gives you the impression that when you get yourself in a hole or the car isn’t quite going like you want it to go or the car isn’t responding like you think it should, you get the impression that you’ll get it fixed. As long as he doesn’t fool me too many times, yeah. He does a great job at, you know, just keeping you in the game. You’re part of the puzzle, and everybody needs to be pulling in the same direction. He’s good at what he does. Ain’t no doubt about it.”

    Another thing that has kept Earnhardt from being a contender is pit road issues. He slid through his stall at Phoenix and was caught speeding on pit road at Bristol.

    If he can qualify better, get the pit road issues sorted out and have a strong car throughout the entire race, then he could easily be part of the championship battle during the final 10 races. Though one thing is certain—this is definitely an improvement from where he was last year.

  • Big Things Come In Small Packages

    Big Things Come In Small Packages

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]The oldest track on the circuit is also the smallest. They say big things come in small packages; and this weekend Martinsville delivered in a very big way.

    The weekend was marred by more tire issues. Goodyear brought new right and left side tires. The right,  a softer compound than the fall race of last year and the left a harder compound. They were trying to improve forward bite and add grip to the tire, something every team and driver had asked for. However, with no testing to prove the compound Goodyear was at a decided disadvantage. The new compound proved to be a border line situation with the track not taking rubber and the tire giving up after approximately 12 – 15 laps. Once the tire gave up it began to shred and throw rubber marbles to the second and upper groove of the track making them virtually unusable. Multiple drivers complained about the tires and the lack of grip and forward bite the cars obtained from them. But NASCAR and Goodyear didn’t view it as a concern. They continued to hold out hope that the track would rubber in after qualifying for the trucks and Cup cars and the Truck race.

    It didn’t happen. And although, Kevin Harvick, who finished 4th in the truck race stated, “The tires are just such pieces of crap,’’ and Kyle Busch stated, “There’s no rubber on the race track,’’ after finishing 2nd in the Truck Race, tires were not a major factor.

    The Camping World Truck race was an entertaining display that saw a Camping World Truck series regular in Johnny Sauter take the checkered flag ahead of series dominating, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

    Sauter who passed Kyle Busch on the next to the last lap held on to record his first victory of the season. Busch who has never won at Martinsville held on to finish second by .453 seconds and was followed by Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick who over came a 2 lap deficit early in the race to garner a 4th place finish.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]Anticipation was high heading in to Sunday or should I say trepidation. The concern over the inadequate tires continued to mount. Everyone from Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon to Dale Earnhardt Jr and Brad Keselowski voiced concerns over the tires. The concerns seemed to loom even larger for fans that had looked forward to the old school bump and run type racing that Martinsville had always delivered. “The poor tire situation is a direct result of not testing.” tweeted Keselowski. “Testing was eliminated in an effort to control costs but the owners just spent even more money on computer simulation programs and equipment that simulates testing.”

    When start time rolled around, Mark Martin was set to make his 800th start in the series and Greg Biffle his 300th series start. Tires or not the cup drivers were ready to run the best race that they could.

    They did not disappoint. The race was a return to the history of the sport. With the bump and run the most prevalent move of the day. The scariest occurrence was not tire related at all and came on lap 222 when the throttle stuck on Martin Truex’s Napa Auto Parts Camry causing him to take out both he and Kasey Kahne. The 56 of Truex momentarily caught fire and Kahne was slow to exit his car. But both drivers were checked and released from the infield care center with a clean bill of health.

    The accident however resulted in a 22 minute red flag period to repair the safer barrier which was damaged when Truex hit it head on at speed.

    Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch all lead at different points in the race. But perhaps the feel good story of the race came from the Hendrick Motorsports 88 team. Dale Earnhardt Jr took the lead on lap 480 with a bump and run on Kyle Busch. He would hold that lead until lap 496 when Kevin Harvick would take the lead when the 88 got loose going into turn one. Dale Jr would finish a bumper in front of Kyle Busch who came across the line in 3rd.

    Earnhardt Jr who moved up to 8th in the points with the second place finish, his best points position since last spring at Texas doesn’t believe he is quite where he needs to be yet, “I ain’t really proved it to myself yet,” he said. “I’ll let you know when I feel like I’m back, personally. Anyone that watched that race today knows that we weren’t a second‑place race car or even a third‑place race car all day. We never were up there to prove that point. So there’s no argument: We got some work to do still.”

    “We are faster, we are more competitive than last year. But we still got a little ways to go.”

    But the promise shown by the 88 team has JRNation excited. It has NASCAR excited. Is he back? Maybe not, but his performances are showing all the promise of a young man who came on the scene and won in his rookie season against what was and arguably remains one of the toughest fields in NASCAR history.

    This race was without a doubt the best of the season. It was a race of steps some big and some small. But steps none the less. This race showed us without a doubt that life and racing draw many parallels and if we are to succeed regardless of the quality of our equipment or our history we have to dig down and find the courage to take that step forward, even though the results could be disasterous. Whether you won last week or 98 races ago the champions of NASCAR took that huge step of faith on tires they doubted in cars that they were unsure of. They gritted their teeth put their trust in men on the roof and on the pit box and somewhere in the back of their minds they said, “Boogity Boogity Lets go racin boys.”

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

    Congratulations to Johnny Sauter and Thorsport racing on their first Camping World Truck Series win of the season. Congratulations to Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress racing on their 2nd win in a row.

    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.